Seth Rogen says it's not a 'coincidence' that he hasn't directed a movie since 'The Interview' and the subsequent Sony hack

• Seth Rogen believes the Sony hack after "The Interview" is why he hasn't directed a movie since.
• "It was something that for sure felt like we burned our hands on the stove," he told NYT.
• He said the negative reviews of the movie left him "gun shy" to tell outlandish stories.

Seth Rogen and his producing partner Evan Goldberg love to take big swings with their projects. That's how we've been entertained in the past with the raunchy animated comedy "Sausage Party" and Rogen playing a 100-year-old immigrant preserved in pickle juice and now living in modern-day Brooklyn in "An American Pickle."

But those big swings can lead to consequences, and Rogen believes that's what has happened due to the controversy surrounding "The Interview," the 2014 comedy the pair produced and directed.

"It was something that for sure felt like we burned our hands on the stove. I don't think it's a coincidence that we haven't directed a film since," the actor told The New York Times.

In "The Interview," Rogen and James Franco play producers of a tabloid show who land an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. It leads to them being recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.

The premise of the movie caused anger from North Korea and Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film, was subsequently hacked, leading to thousands of the studio's internal emails being leaked online. Sony pulled the movie's release in theaters (it was released online) and Rogen and Goldberg were given full-time security.

US officials concluded that North Korea was "centrally involved" in the hack, following an investigation.

In 2016, when Insider interviewed Goldberg and Rogen and asked if "The Interview" experience left them gun shy in how to tell stories going forward, the two said no.

"I would probably maybe not make a thing about North Korea again," Rogen said. "We played that card."

But looking back on it now, Rogen told the Times' Jonah Weiner that he did get gun shy - perhaps less due to the hack and more because of the negative reaction to the movie itself.

"What's painful is the joy people seemed to take in deriding it," Rogen said.

"The Interview" has a 51% critic score and 48% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

"Major publications who took the time to write articles that were, like, 'And by the way, this movie sucks. Yes, it's the center of a major controversy, but don't let it be lost on you that it's also terrible,'" Rogen said.

Rogen and Goldberg have since rebounded nicely. They're still a prominent producing team, having done everything from hit movies like "Blockers" and "Good Boys" to acclaimed TV shows "Preacher" and "The Boys."

And directing a movie again may not be far behind (the two have only directed TV episodes, not films, since "The Interview").

Rogen told Weiner they are currently writing the script for an action movie called "Escape" that they have been developing for years and want to direct. He calls it a mix between Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan.