No Time to Die director Cary Fukunaga opened up in a new interview about his decision to exit the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King’s classic horror novel It.
Fukunaga spent several years developing the adaptation for Warner Bros., but left the project just three weeks before It was scheduled to begin production. "I was on that for four or five years with [Warner Bros.] and then it got moved to New Line, right before we were about to go into production," he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Fukunaga went on to explain that his departure came down to creative differences. "I think New Line's view of what they wanted and my view of what I wanted were very different," he said. "I wanted to do a drama with horror elements, more like The Shining. I think they wanted to do something more [pure horror] like Annabelle. That was essentially the disconnect."
Andy Muschietti eventually replaced Fukunaga. It went on to become a massive hit at the box office and spawned sequel. Fukunaga, who still received a screenplay credit on the project, stated that there was no bad blood over his exit and he continues to collaborate with It producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee. "If I was a difficult director, they wouldn’t necessarily want to be working with me," he added.
Despite Fukunaga insisting there are no hard feelings between him and the producers of It, the filmmaker intimated in 2018 that there might have been a bit of tension between him and the studio. In a previous interview with GQ, he explained, "I think it was fear on their part, that they couldn't control me. No, they thought they couldn't control me. I would have been a total collaborator. That was the kind of ridiculous part. It was just more a perception. I have never seen a note and been like, fuck you guys. No way. It's always been a conversation."
Within a year of leaving It, Fukunaga set up a meeting with No Time to Die producer Barbara Broccoli. Although Danny Boyle was initially hired to direct the 25th Bond installment, Broccoli circled back to Fukunaga when Boyle vacated the movie over creative differences. The producers embraced Fukunaga’s more brooding vision for the film and the rest is history.
No Time to Die, which marks Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as James Bond, hits theaters Oct. 8.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter