Don’t Breathe’s Jane Levy hits back at director’s sequel comments

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Really didn't see this one coming, but Don't Breathe's Jane Levy has something to say about the director Fede Alvarez's recent comments as to why she wasn't asked back for Don't Breathe 2. While he seemed to sprinkle in some compliments about the actress, some of his statements took the extra step of assuming how she felt while making the first film, and that didn't sit right with Levy.

During a recent press event for Don't Breathe 2 in preparation for its trailer launch, which debuted yesterday, director Fede Alvarez said that he sees the "amazing" Levy "in her true element where she's truly happy" on TV. This was a comment that alludes to Levy's role on the recently canceled Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. He went on to say, "When I saw her shooting this movie, I did not see her happy. I think that she gives 200% every day and these movies are really demanding in the way we do them also. So I wouldn't have done that to her." That statement seems to suggest that her time on the first Don't Breathe was truly demanding for the actress and he, assuming she wouldn't want to go through that again, didn't want to put her through such a grueling task by inviting her back for the sequel. You can see a screengrab of his full quote below!

This reasoning didn't seem to sit well with Jane Levy who took to her Twitter to give her two cents. Her caption reads, "I don't really want to revisit this but it feels a little funny…to have people choosing what the 'best decision' is for me without asking what I think or want…?"  Levy's response has a lot to do with Alvarez saying, "In general, actors going through this – take it seriously – go through hell. And she went through hell twice, back to back, with Evil Dead and Don't Breathe. By the time of Don't Breathe, it was even harder. Maybe when I called her, she would've said yes. I doubt it, but if she had, I would feel really bad. I wouldn't want to do that to anybody."

One could read his comments as being "nice" but it is a bit insulting that he's assuming how she would feel to be asked back based on how demanding her two times working with him have been. If Levy is to be believed, not coming back for the sequel, if asked, would've had nothing to do with being too committed. Levy captioned another tweet that read, "@fedalvar is right though. I would not want to do don't breathe 2…but not because I am too committed as an actor lol." Levy also left us with a pretty to-the-point statement by saying, "maybe we should be asking why these films are made in such a way that their directors are averse to having committed actors participate?" You can check out Levy's Twitter posts below!

Rodo Sayagues, who co-wrote both Don't Breathe films and is directing the sequel, says he "wasn't thinking about " Levy's career trajectory "when we came up with the story for this movie. We just thought, 'What is the sequel we want to do?' We came up with the story, and the story didn't call for her character. So that was it." Sayagues comments are much better in comparison to Alvarez's since he made zero assumptions about what she might want to do. He believed the sequel didn't warrant her character, and that was that.

As of this writing, Alvarez and Sayagues haven't responded to Levy's tweets but they are sure to spark some debate amongst horror fans about how these films are made and what actors may or may not go through while making them. Levy worked with Alvarez twice on Evil Dead and Don't Breathe so the working relationship must've been decent enough then to work on those two films. Perhaps this is yet another example of think before you speak.

What are YOUR thoughts on Fede Alvarez's comments about not asking Jane Levy back for Don't Breathe 2? Do YOU agree with her response?