Dakota Johnson Slams Hollywood: "They Remake The Same Things"

Speaking about the industry's endless remake cycle, she said:

"When something does well, studios want to keep that going, so they remake the same things, but humans don't want that. They want fresh, they want to feel new things, experience new things, see new things, so I don't know, I guess it's all just a bit of a mess right now, isn't it?"

Coming off the wreckage of Madame Web—a film she's more or less disowned—it's no surprise she's pivoted hard toward indie films and projects driven by actual ideas rather than corporate templates.

And she didn't stop there. Asked about the state of creativity in studio filmmaking, Johnson laid the blame squarely at the feet of people who don't even seem to like movies:

"I think it's hard when creative decisions are made by committee, and it's hard when creative decisions are made by people who don't even really watch movies or know anything about them, and that tends to be what's occurring a lot."

It's not the first time she's said this, but the Hot Wings seem to have brought out the clearest version of the argument: original ideas are dying because the people in charge don't know—or care—what originality even looks like anymore.

And while she still believes there's an audience for thoughtful, challenging films, the larger system seems to be sprinting in the opposite direction. Disney's shot-for-shot How to Train Your Dragon remake is projected to pull in $100 million. Meanwhile, smaller, riskier films struggle to find space in a landscape choked by IP.

That disconnect was picked up by commenters too.

One wrote, "People claim they want original films, but they don't actually see them." Another added, "The press tours are fun because she doesn't sound like a media robot. If the movies are good, that's a bonus."

But the larger conversation spiraled—as it always does—into familiar territory. One commenter accused modern remakes of being "infected" by DEI and feminism, prompting a long, hostile back-and-forth that quickly turned into a proxy war about Barbie, Fair Play, race, and gender politics in general.

And here's the thing: the deeper point Dakota was making had nothing to do with culture wars. Her frustration is about corporate laziness—how storytelling has been replaced by algorithms, and originality by focus-grouped sameness. And that criticism is getting harder to argue with when "new" content increasingly looks like a recycling bin with better lighting.

There's still an audience for good, weird, inventive films. But it's getting harder to reach them when the industry is more focused on prequel spin-offs and multiverse DLCs. Johnson's not pretending to have the solution—but at least she's still showing up with something to say. That alone puts her ahead of most of Hollywood.