Ethan Coen is taking an indefinite break from filmmaking and it is unclear if he and his sibling Joel will ever collaborate on another movie, composer Carter Burwell said in his recent appearance on the Score podcast.

The decision for the brothers to go their separate ways professionally was “amicable,” insisted Burwell, who has worked with the Coens on most of their films, including Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men. 

Burwell — who has also scored films for Martin McDonagh and Todd Haynes — penned the music for The Tragedy of Macbeth, Joel Coen’s solo writing and directorial debut. The Shakespearean tragedy is set to premiere as the opening night selection of the New York Film Festival on Sept. 24. 

The screen drama stars Joel’s wife Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington, both of whom are multiple Oscar winners. The ensemble also features Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Kathryn Hunter, Harry Melling and Brendan Gleeson.

“Ethan has written and produced on his own I know, but this is the first time Joel is directing on his own,” he added. “Ethan just didn’t want to make movies anymore.

Ethan seems very happy doing what he’s doing, and I’m not sure what Joel will do after this. They also have a ton of scripts they’ve written together that are sitting on various shelves. I hope maybe they get back to those.

I’ve read some of those, and they are great.

We are all at an age where we just don’t know… we could all retire. It’s a wonderfully unpredictable business.”