One of the most controversial stories to hit Hollywood this year has just taken another shocking turn. Following reports last week that Tom Hardy had been forcibly removed from his role as star and producer of MobLand, it now seems that those rumors were just those — rumors.
According to Variety, Hardy was not fired from MobLand, and discussions are currently underway to find a creative path for his character, Harry Da Souza, to return. One source close to production said, “Tom was not fired, the door is not closed for Season 3 and things are being worked through creatively.”
It had been reported that Hardy had feuded with Jez Butterworth and producer David Glasser. Now, Variety reports that the tensions were very much real, but that Hardy was never officially fired, with the three of them attempting to resolve their creative differences. Another source also suggested that Guy Ritchie, who executive produces the series and directed multiple episodes, may be pushing to keep Hardy involved, saying, “Guy likes working with Tom.” Maybe it’ll involve classic Ritchie-style “bash a few heads together” to settle the matter. We volunteer Jason Statham as mediator.
The cast of MobLand also includes Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye) as Conrad Harrigan, Helen Mirren (The Queen) as Maeve Harrigan, and Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) as Kevin Harrigan. The series was co-created by Ronan Bennett and Butterworth and is produced by Glasser’s 101 Studios alongside MTV Entertainment Studios. Ritchie is an executive producer and has directed episodes across both seasons.
Why Was Tom Hardy Allegedly Fired From ‘MobLand’?
Another source as cited by Variety claimed Butterworth was not regularly present on set, which made script issues harder to handle when they came up during production, something which reportedly became more of a problem once Ritchie was no longer directing every episode, since other directors did not necessarily have the same authority to adjust material on the fly. One source said Hardy responds well to Ritchie because the pair have a long working relationship dating back to RocknRolla, and because Ritchie can tell him directly when to stop messing around.
Apparently this all caused annoyance for Brosnan and Mirren, who were allegedly left waiting when Hardy was late to set. However, sources pushed back on claims of any major personal fallout between Mirren and Hardy. One source said Mirren may have told him, “Come on Tom, we’ve been here for ages, let’s get on with it,” but added that she has “never appeared to be anti-Tom.” The same source also dismissed suggestions that any tension between the actors was political, calling that idea “wildly unhelpful and untrue.” Another source close to the show also denied those rumors.
MobLand Season 1 is streaming on Paramount+.
via Collider