We didn’t know why brother Ethan was not part of Joel Coen’s upcoming “The Tragedy of Macbeth” adaptation, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. When the project was announced, it was a conspicuous absence, most notably because the Coen Brothers have always worked together (Joel is usually credited as the director, Ethan as the co-writer). In fact, they haven’t missed a collaboration together since their 1984 debut “Blood Simple.”
In a new interview with Collider, longtime Coen composer Carter Burwell shed a clearer light as to why Ethan is absent for this latest venture. According to him, quite simply, Ethan didn’t want to do it.
“It’s a little different, even just the conversations I’ve had,” Burwell said. “Yeah, it’s a little different to have one of the brothers there. And I know Ethan, I saw him towards the end of last year and Joel was out prepping the shoot in LA, he said it felt strange that Joel is out there getting ready to make a movie. But Ethan didn’t want to do it. He wants to do other things. So it’s going to be a little bit different for all of us, I think it’s safe to say, but I think it’s still going to be a very recognizable voice that you’re familiar with, a look that you’re familiar with, I think. I think you’ll find that.”
Burwell added that both Ethan and Joel are “feeling strange” about not collaborating together for the first time in their careers. Filming had begun on February 10th and Coen recently confirmed that they were about 2/3 of the way done with the shoot before production shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A24 has not announced a release date for the project, but a 2021 release is not out of the question.
This is Joel’s first non-episodic film since he and Ethan released 2016’s “Hail Caesar.”