Steve McQueen criticizes poor marketing for the 2018 crime thriller “Widows.”

Widowsthe director’s 2018 crime/thriller Steve McQueenputs its female characters in the spotlight as four women are forced to work together to pay off debts incurred by their late husbands’ criminal activities. In addition to a great premise, the film boasts a top-notch cast, with Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo making up the titular group of heroines. But even though everything worked in his favor, Steve McQueen was frustrated by the studio’s lack of support for the film’s feminist messageand wished that the marketing of the film was handled completely differently.

When Steve McQueen appeared at a question and answer session at the London Film Festival (which MovieWeb attended), he recalled the frustrating marketing for Widows. The director didn’t go into all the details but discussed the film’s poster. “Just look at the poster,” McQueen said. It’s safe to assume that the poster is for Widows would, well, show the widows. However, Hollywood executives weren’t sure whether a poster featuring four female leads would be enough to sell the film to a wide audience. As a result, the main poster was changed to include the widows’ husbands – reducing any chances of the marketing passing the Bechdel Test.

“It should have been the four women on that poster.” McQueen continued. The director recounted meeting with an executive about the poster and expressed frustration over the ridiculous decision. McQueen continued: “So what you have on the poster, for example, is everyone on the poster. But if it’s for everyone, it’s for no one.” Trying to understand the studio’s financially motivated decision (what Hollywood decision isn’t financially motivated?), Steve McQueen admitted, “They weren’t ready. People weren’t ready.”

Widows is Steve McQueen’s most underrated film

When Steve McQueen’s name comes up, people like to debate the obvious favorite: 12 years slave (In their defense, it’s a phenomenal movie). Hardcore fans of the director will also mention his previous works hungerabout the hunger strikes of Irish Republicans in the 1980s and shameabout a man struggling with sex addiction. Maybe you’re also getting ready to watch his latest film, flashfollowing a young woman’s journey in search of her evacuated son amidst war-torn Britain in the 1940s. However, Widows often falls by the wayside.

The film is certainly McQueen’s most Hollywood-esque project and it’s clear that he’s having fun with the film. In addition to the four female leads Widows Also starring are Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Coburn Goss, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Carrie Coon, Daniel Kaluuya and Brian Tyree Henry. Like many of his films Widows is a tough, grueling film that explores a typically realistic take on the crime genre, filled with phenomenal performances from everyone involved and beautiful, claustrophobic camerawork. Widows is undoubtedly a film that audiences will rediscover in the years to come. McQueen hopes that it will work “with the right poster.”