For many years, Joel and Ethan Coen operated like one mind cut up between two individuals, and had been synonymous with razor-sharp dialogue and darkish comedy, creating a few of the greatest characters in essentially the most memorable American movies of the final half-century, like Fargo, The Massive Lebowski, and No Nation for Previous Males. When the brothers stopped making films as a duo after 2018’s untraditional western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, followers assumed one thing massive should have occurred behind the scenes. However in line with Ethan Coen, the actual purpose for the brothers’ cut up is much much less dramatic.
Selling his 2025 film launch, the hardboiled detective riff Honey Don’t, in an interview with Collider alongside his spouse and collaborator Tricia Cooke, Ethan Coen set the document straight, admitting the “cut up” wasn’t actually a choice in any respect, and was relatively simply timing and circumstance:
Neither of us knew what the opposite can be doing or not. After the final film we made collectively, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, I used to be like, “I can’t do one other one. That is too exhausting. I’m out.” And Joel went on to do Macbeth. After which COVID occurred, and we had been locked down — me and Tricia — and we had the chance to do that documentary with all archival footage – and that was sort of nice.
That detour led Ethan to rediscover his curiosity in filmmaking, whereas Joel pursued his ardour challenge in The Tragedy of Macbeth. The consequence, Ethan says, was merely a matter of the 2 “getting out of sync.” As he put it:
So I sort of received once more, and we have now these scripts, however Joel was engaged on his factor, so we sort of received out of sync. Now, there was by no means a choice by the 2 of us to do films individually.
Ethan confessed that after years of back-to-back tasks, he was burned out. Taking a break not solely gave him area but in addition helped him rekindle his curiosity. Throughout lockdown, he and Cooke pivoted to archival documentaries earlier than diving into scripted options like final 12 months’s horny however flawed Drive-Away Dolls and now Honey Don’t, which they describe as a non secular cousin to The Massive Sleep and Robert Altman’s The Lengthy Goodbye.
Within the new flick, which has been met with combined opinions critically, Margaret Qualley stars as Honey O’Donahue, a pointy detective whose banter channels Humphrey Bogart (with a touch of Lauren Bacall). Aubrey Plaza co-stars as a cop, whereas Chris Evans leans exhausting into sleaze as a corrupt reverend. It’s the sort of style experiment that feels very Coen-esque, even with out Joel’s title within the credit.
Joel, the opposite half of the Coen Brothers, has carved out his personal solo lane, beginning with Macbeth and reportedly creating a still-untitled horror challenge. Ethan acknowledged that the brothers nonetheless share unfinished scripts and even have concepts they as soon as outlined collectively. It’s not a lot a aware parting as it’s two artists working at their very own rhythms.
So, are the Coen Brothers completed for good? Don’t depend on it. Ethan emphasised there’s no rift, no artistic divorce, and no finality. As for Honey Don’t, it simply landed in theaters, so you should definitely test your native listings. And whereas followers might miss the Coens’ signature joint credit score, Ethan’s rationalization makes it fairly clear that their partnership isn’t over, it’s simply on pause.