Steven Soderbergh insists reports about Thandiwe Newton's Magic Mike exit were inaccurate

Magic Mike's Last Dance director Steven Soderbergh has insisted all headlines surrounding Thandiwe Newton's exit from the movie were inaccurate.

In April last year, it was announced that the Westworld actress had departed the project after 11 days of filming due to personal reasons. She was replaced by Salma Hayek.

Following her exit, reports emerged claiming Newton was fired from the film after having an explosive argument with leading man Channing Tatum about Will Smith's infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Soderbergh shut the speculation down.

"Nothing I ever saw was accurate, and there's really no upside for anybody involved in litigating this or excavating it, because I consider it private," he said. "Everything I saw publicly was wrong. It was just... I don't think anybody sees any benefit in running through this publicly. It becomes something you can't control. Right now, to keep it private means all of us can control it, and I think that's where it should sit for the time being."

The team drafted Hayek, who lives in London, where the film is set, to play the leading lady Maxandra Mendoza. They kept the same actress, Jemelia George, as her daughter Zadie and simply changed the mother-daughter relationship from biological to adoptive.

"I think it played to the dynamic she has with her daughter and resulted in one of my favourite lines in the whole movie - when she says, 'Mom.' Now I look at it and go, that's how it always should have been," he explained. "We had to recalibrate. There's no question. We all spent hours and hours in rooms rebuilding it, rethinking it to make it specific. At a certain point, you have to surrender to what the cinema gods want for you."

Newton has yet to comment on her departure. Magic Mike's Last Dance is in cinemas from Friday.