Chloë Grace Moretz Says Her New Film Has “Completely Distanced” Itself From Max Landis

Earlier this year, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Chloë Grace Moretz had signed on to star in Shadow in the Cloud, a forthcoming action-horror film from New Zealand director Roseanne Liang and written by… Max Landis, who was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women on social media in 2017 (and, more recently, in an interview with the Daily Beast) and who, allegations of impropriety aside, Jezebel recently referred to as “a C-list screenwriter, director, and producer best known for a string of films that truly bring to life the term ‘straight to video.’”

It appeared a surprising move for Moretz, considering she’d only recently had to weather the storm that was Louis CK’s I Love You, Daddy—and considering her response to the since-shelved film was, bluntly, “I think it should just kind of go away.”

Well, in a new interview with The Guardian, Moretz addressed Landis’s involvement with her upcoming project—or his lack thereof, as it may be. “We’ve completely distanced ourselves from him,” she sad. “We’ve rewritten it several times now. His name is kind of far away from the project.” (He’s still credited as the sole writer on the film’s IMDb page, but then again, Moretz is currently the only listed cast member; Shadow in the Cloud is still in pre-production.) Shadow in the Clouds, according to the THR announcement, features Moretz as a fighter plane captain during World War II who boards a new assignment “with top-secret contents.” Things begin mundanely enough—she endures “jeers” from the “leery, all-male crew”—but quickly turn more ominous, and maybe even supernatural, when “they realize that something is lurking within the shadows.” The gendered dimension of this plot description, in particular, prompted raised eyebrows upon its announcement, given Landis’s alleged misconduct against women.

“Communication is key and being held accountable is key,” Moretz went on in the Guardian interview. “It’s a really horrific thing to hear those stories.”

Her candor regarding Landis’s involvement with her film should come as no surprise—and not just in light of I Love You, Daddy. Over the course of her career, Moretz has made a habit of highlighting the inappropriate behaviors she confronts in Hollywood; she’s been doing this a long time, and she’s had people tell her she’s too fat or imply she needs breast implants or simply comment, very publicly, on her relationships. “People were like: ‘You’re crazy. You’re going lose your career over this. You’re so outspoken.’” But “now, everyone says it’s cool to be woke.”