Warner Bros. Cuts Ties With Brett Ratner After Declining Financial Deal

Brett Ratner's partnership with Warner Bros. is officially over.

The studio has officially severed all ties with the director and producer who was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and misconduct late last year. According a report by The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has decided not to renew its deal with Ratner's RatPac-Dune Entertainment. The studio had previously had a $450 million co-financing deal with Ratner that provided financing for films such as Wonder Woman, Tomb Raider, and Ready Player One. Dwayne Johnson's monster movie Rampage will be the last under the agreement.

Ratner, who may be best known for his work directing films such as Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand, was accused of sexual harassment back in November. A report by the Los Angeles Times shared accusations of sexual assault by six women, including Natasha Henstridge, Katherine Towne, Olivia Munn, Jamie Ray Newman, Eri Sasaki, and Jorina King. Additionally, X-Men: The Last Stand star Ellen Page came forward with claims that Ratner had directed threatening and homophobic slurs at her during a cast and crew "meet and greet" before cameras began to roll on the film. Other stars of the film present at the time, including Anna Paquin, supported Page's claim.

Ratner's attorney disputed the claims and Ratner has kept a low profile since the allegations surfaced, but that hasn't helped when it comes to his deal with Warner Bros. or his other projects. Following the initial report, Warner Bros. announced that they were not planning to renew the contract when it expired in March and Gal Gadot, star of Wonder Woman, was said to have refused to be part of the sequel unless the studio severed all ties with Ratner. Soon after, Gadot confirmed that Ratner was off the sequel.

Ratner is among numerous Hollywood men who have faced professional and economic consequences following serious accusations of sexual misconduct, harassment, and in some cases, assault in recent months. The accusations against Ratner came just a month after The New York Times and The New Yorker both reported that more than a dozen women accused producer Harvey Weinstein of harassment and misconduct, with many more coming forward after the reports.