George Clooney had some unfortunate news to share at the first press conference for Apple’s hotly anticipated action comedy Wolfs at the Venice Film Festival. 

The Hollywood actor, seated beside co-star Brad Pitt, revealed that the film’s director Jon Watts would be missing the movie’s world premiere in Italy Sunday night because he caught Covid. 

“He traveled all the way here, and then caught COVID,” Clooney said with a resigned look on his face and a shake of his head.

Watt also was absent from the press conference, leaving Pitt and Clooney to speak on behalf of the movie. 

Pitt and Clooney co-star in the action comedy as professional fixers who are hired to cover up for the same high-profile crime, forcing the two “lone wolves” to work together — and before long they find their night spiraling out of control in ways that neither of them could have expected.

Watts is best known for directing the most recent Spider-Man trilogy for Sony, with the last film, No Way Home, shattering box office records on its way to $1.9 billion at the global box office.

Wolfs, which is produced by Clooney’s Smokehouse and Pitt’s Plan B, also stars Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Poorna Jagannathan, Richard Kind and Zlatko Burić. Watts and McGunigle produced, alongside Clooney, Grant Heslov, Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Michael Beugg executive produces.

Just days before the two movie stars landed in Venice, news broke that Watts has a deal in place with Apple to write and direct a Wolfs sequel. It is unclear if Clooney and Pitt have also already signed on for the follow-up.