Apple’s ‘Wolfs’ Won’t Be Getting a Sequel
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Despite becoming the most-watched movie in Apple TV+ history, it seems that George Clooney and Brad Pitt won’t be returning for a sequel for Apple’s Wolfs.
In an exclusive interview with Collider, Director Jon Watts “all but confirmed” that there won’t be a “Wolfs 2,” saying, “I don’t know what I’m directing next, and I don’t think there’s going to be a Wolfs sequel.”
Deadline followed up on that statement to get actual confirmation from Watts, who said he nixed the deal because he “no longer trusted [Apple] as a creative partner.”
It’s a sad end to what could have been a great follow-up. Without straying into spoiler territory for those who haven’t watched it yet, Wolfs ended in a way that left it primed for a sequel. It wasn’t a cliffhanger, thankfully, so the original film stands entirely on its own, but it definitely whet our appetites for more of the Clooney-Pitt duo.
Watts told Deadline that Apple was so thrilled with Wolfs that it ordered a sequel almost immediately. However, his enthusiasm for the project soured when Apple capriciously chose to change its theatrical release plans at the last minute.
I showed Apple my final cut of Wolfs early this year. They were extremely enthusiastic about it and immediately commissioned me to start writing a sequel. But their last minute shift from a promised wide theatrical release to a streaming release was a total surprise and made without any explanation or discussion. I wasn’t even told about it until less than a week before they announced it to the world. Director Jon Watts, speaking with Deadline
Apple went into the film business in 2019 with ambitions of being an Oscar-winning studio, but it’s found that road slightly tougher to navigate. Although it succeeded in spades with CODA, winning a history-making Best Picture Oscar by becoming the first streaming service to do so. Following that win, it committed to spending $1 billion annually on theatrical releases, but it’s more recently begun to rethink that strategy.
Between October 2023 and April 2024, Apple spent an estimated $700 million spend on three blockbuster films — Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, and Argylle — that turned in disappointing results at the box office, taking in only $466 million worldwide. While Apple initially wanted to do more than provide the “token” theatrical releases of rivals like Netflix that are the minimum runs necessary to win Oscars, it’s more recently decided that these may not be worth the effort.
Killers, Napoleon, and Argyle will still profitable thanks to “ancillary revenue streams” like Apple TV+ subscriptions and premium video-on-demand (PVOD) services, but the lackluster theatrical releases weren’t money well-spent as in addition to the sunken costs of running the films in theatres, the negative reception held them back from “hit” status.
As a result, Apple decided to change its strategy in the midst of other cutbacks to limit its theatrical releases to massive blockbuster titles, such as Brad Pitt’s F1 slated to next summer. Lighter fare would instead get limited theatrical releases and then land straight on Apple TV+ within a week, rather than several-week timeframe that Apple’s other recent feature films went through.
Sadly, Wolfs turned out to be the first casualty of this shift in policy, and Watts found himself blindsided. He even told Apple to avoid mentioning that a sequel was in the works, but the company went ahead and did so anyway.
I was completely shocked and asked them to please not include the news that I was writing a sequel. They ignored my request and announced it in their press release anyway, seemingly to create a positive spin to their streaming pivot. Director Jon Watts, speaking with Deadline
Watts bailed shortly thereafter, telling Deadline that he “quietly returned the money” for the sequel but didn’t want to talk about it as he was proud of Wolfs and didn’t want to detract from it with “unnecessary negative press.”
It’s not only unfortunate news for fans who enjoyed Wolfs, but also for the creative team. Watts told Deadline he “loved working with Brad and George” and the rest of the cast and crew, “and would happily do it again.” However, his lack of confidence in Apple left him with no choice but to cancel the Wolfs sequel.
For its part, Apple had no comment for the record, but sources “close to” the company told Deadline that it considers the movie a success and remains open to a sequel.
