"I don't want [Alasdair] to go…"

Endless shows where the not-very-likable main character is a man: The Golden Age Of Television

Everyone else is covering how wrong the "restrained, but not wholly negative, shrug" comment is, so I'd just like to add that it's also a genuinely terrible piece of tortured phrasing.

They could mine some pretty good awkward comedy from a film that pairs up a teenage dude with a catsuited Black Widow…

I probably shouldn’t be sharing this (sorry, Ron!) but I have an exclusive preview of the pilot’s opening scene:

These shared universes are getting out of hand…

Brad Bird would be a good pick: his style could match up to existing footage well, and he's still in director jail after Tomortowland so he's less likely to rock the boat.

Oh man, remember how there was like a solid eight months when any time Doctor Who was mentioned some unfunny try-hard would jump in with "Don't you mean Inspector Spacetime?"

That update honestly has me worried for the entire franchise. Firing directors this deep into filming is unprecedented, and if it was truly "just" because of a toxic partnership then I no longer have a lot of faith in Kennedy's leadership. I mean, directors and studios clash all the time, but usually the studios wait…

Deliverance:

Someone like Howard makes sense: someone with nothing to prove, in the latter part of his career, who won't get it pinned on him if it stinks. Someone who could do it as a lark for the next ten months and move on. Howard, del Toro, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, etc.

This is off-topic, but since I might not get the chance to tell you this if the Kinja switchover happens I thought I'd share it now:

They ARE the new director.

I'm really curious to see how billing will shake out for this, now. As someone said below, the DGA will almost certainly get involved. I don't know how they'll rule, since I can't think of another high-profile situation where a director got this close to finishing a film before leaving the project.

I could end up eating my words, but I doubt the person they pick will have a name that even 10% of this site will recognize. No "name" director will want to sign up for what will amount to a glorified AD credit.

Heh, you and I posted nearly identical comments (including an all-capped "weird" in the first line) just seconds apart.

This is SO WEIRD. The movie only had three weeks of shooting left.

I'll never stop talking about this: what the hell happened to Alden Ehrenreich between Hail, Caesar and now? He looks like he aged 15 years. He looks like a dude being interviewed about environmentally friendly mulch on This Old House.

I love how these movies frequently feature the government teaming up with the bad guys. (Including this one, apparently.) Ahem: they call themselves THE DECEPTICONS, what do you think is going to happen here!?

[Thank you to everyone who is about to respond to this comment with that god damn Michael Caine / Jaws 4 / lake house quote, but we really don't need to see it for the millionth time.]