“Trash Mountain” was supposed to be Lilly Wachowski’s solo directorial debut, but that’s no longer happening. Lilly was recently replaced by Kris Swamberg as director of the film, which stars Zooey Deschanel and Jacki Weaver.
What happened? We’re not entirely sure. The last film Lilly directed was 2015’s “Jupiter Ascending,” and there have been attempts to adapt trans-themed books such as Gretchen Felker-Martin’s “Manhunt” and Jordy Rosenberg’s “Confessions of the Fox” to the screen, but with little to no update about them. There was also an attempt to bring an adaptation of the sci-fi lesbian comic “Cosmoknights” to the big screen.
In a new interview with IndieWire, Lilly says that, despite strong efforts, none of these projects have been able to get a greenlight—she believes it’s been a very difficult time to make movies because “fascism” is thriving:
I’ve written two features: one with my current partner [Mickey Mahoney], a gonzo political thriller about a sort of trans weather underground called “The Hunted”; and I’ve written an adaptation to a comic book called “Cosmonauts.” So I’ve been busy. We have not been able to get things made. I feel like the industry is a microcosm of what is happening all around the world: the consolidation of wealth, the corporate consolidation that you’re seeing. It’s creating an ecosphere where fascism can thrive, and so within that ecosphere, queer stories, trans stories, Black and brown stories are all on the chopping block.
Lilly vows to “continue [to] throw my shoulder against the doors that have been closed” and keep pursuing her passion projects.
Here’s what I think is really happening, and why Lilly and sister Lana Wachowski have struggled to get certain large-scale projects greenlit in recent years. Studios are just very reluctant to fund their highly ambitious and expensive films, especially since their previous efforts have resulted in significant reported losses.
The Wachowskis had their breakout with “The Matrix,” which captured the zeitgeist like few sci-fi films before or after it, leading to two highly profitable—if somewhat clunky—sequels in the early 2000s.
Since then, their careers have had mixed commercial outcomes. “Speed Racer” and “Jupiter Ascending” reportedly lost over $100M each, and “Cloud Atlas” lost around $30M. Lana Wachowski went on to direct 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections,” which also reportedly underperformed financially. She has kept a relatively low public profile since then.
That’s nearly $350M in reported losses across just four films. From a studio perspective, that kind of track record makes it difficult to secure funding for similarly large, high-risk passion projects. That’s what’s actually happening. Not fascism. In Hollywood, making money is all that matters.