In 2010, Mel Gibson attempted a Hollywood comeback with *Edge of Darkness*, a film adaptation of Martin Campbell’s acclaimed BBC miniseries. Robert De Niro was cast as a CIA operative but left only a week into filming, prompting speculation that he had objected to Gibson’s controversial antisemitic remarks; the official explanation was simply “creative differences”.

The remake transferred the story from Britain to Boston and condensed a six-part political thriller into a feature film, making it difficult to preserve the original’s complexity. De Niro’s departure in August 2008 was never publicly explained by him, Gibson or Campbell, leaving the precise cause uncertain and the rumours unconfirmed.