The MCU's SPIDER-MAN Director Jon Watts Talks About Why He Left Marvel and Why He's Unlikely to Return

Director Jon Watts started off his career making shorts, music videos, and episodes of TV shows before venturing into the world of film. After making the 2015 film Cop Car, starring Kevin Bacon, he reached a new level of success, getting picked up for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Home Trilogy.

He made those extremely successful, and beloved three films in short succession, and was being eyed by the studio for not only a fourth Spider-Man, but also for the highly anticipated Fantastic Four.

He ended up walking away from each of those projects in 2022, and opted instead to make this year’s buzzy crime thriller, Wolfs, reuniting stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

While it seems like he traded one golden ticket for another, Watts got a taste of freedom with this project that he had never experienced at Marvel, and it looks like he’s not willing to go back.

Watts not only directed this film, but he wrote the script as well, and he feels more tied to a project without such a history and strings attached.

Watts explained his perspective in a recent interview with THR:

“I was just getting started and Marvel came along — and I take full creative ownership over all those films — but Spider-Man is always going to be Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s creation. This was the chance for me to go back to my voice and my vision and my style. Wolfs is mine, and that’s a really good feeling.”

He made his mark on the MCU, and the Spider-Man story was told beautifully because of it. I’d love to see him return, but I think it’s really cool that he’s out there making original films for us to enjoy.

Wolfs will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on September 27th.