Rumors Swirled Florence Pugh Did Some Directing On Don’t Worry Darling After Olivia Wilde ‘Disappeared’ With Harry Styles. Now There’s A New Wrinkle

Florence Pugh as Alice in Don't Worry Darling
(Image credit: Warner Bros)

A couple of years ago, one of the biggest stories in Hollywood surrounded the production of the movie Don’t Worry Darling. Reports indicated that while director Oliva Wilde and star Harry Styles found love on the set, for others, including co-star Florence Pugh, things were far less rosy. Pugh and Wilde reportedly did not get along on set, but while it appeared that all that was behind everybody involved, now the movie is back in the news.

One of the rumors that had been floating around during the movie’s apparently troubled production was that the newly together Oliva Wilde and Harry Styles would disappear from the set from time to time. It was said that during some of these periods, Florence Pugh herself actually directed scenes in the movie. Now an unnamed producer is claiming to World of Reel that Pugh didn’t really direct parts of the film. However, he is saying instead that it was the film’s Director of Photography, Matthew Libatique that took over. The source claimed…

On the days Wilde disappeared, Florence [Pugh] and Matthew [Libatique] were in charge but I’d say it was more Matthew who kept the shoot rolling. They couldn’t really afford to have the movie shut down so he tried to follow Olivia’s vision as much as he could. Once Olivia got back on set, as if nothing had happened, that’s when Pugh lost it on her.

It was in early 2021 that rumors started to fly that, while on the set of the movie that she was directing and he was appearing in, Olivia Wilde had started a relationship with Harry Styles. Following her split from Jason Sudeikis, this became its own tabloid story. Following those rumors came new ones that the relationship was allegedly a problem on the set for some of the other actors, most notably Florence Pugh. While both women would later downplay any alleged “feud” between them, the rumors persisted.

While it’s impossible to substantiate something coming from an unnamed source, and so this still has to be seen as a rumor, it’s another statement indicating that there were certainly problems on the set of Don’t Worry Darling. This would at least explain specifically why some of the cast, including Pugh, may have had an issue with the relationship, as it may have been legitimately causing problems with production.

Even if we take this rumor as truth, it’s unclear just how often this happened. The source does say it was multiple days, but it’s hard to tell if we’re talking about a couple of days or if this was a regular occurrence throughout the entire production. 

One wonders if this most recent claim will set off a new set of rumors surrounding the film. Perhaps, with Don't Worry Darling significantly in the rearview mirror, people will be more willing to talk and we'll get a clear picture of just what in the world was going on. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.