Back in August of 2017, director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) kicked off production on Chaos Walking, an adaptation of Patrick Ness’ dystopian novel of the same name starring Tom Holland (Avengers: Infinity War) and Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Last Jedi).
The project was originally intended to arrive in March of this year, only for Lionsgate to announce in April 2018 that the movie would be undergoing major reshoots which would likely push its release date back. A year on, and with reshoots finally due to get underway due to scheduling issues with its stars, all we’ve really heard is that the film is now targeting a 2020 release.
However, a report over at The Wall Street Journal (via The Playlist) has given some insight into the issues facing the production, stating that the original cut “turned out so poorly it was deemed unreleasable by executives who watched initial cuts last year.” Having already sunk around $100 million into the project, the studio to try and salvage something from its investment with three weeks of additional photography in an effort to “improve its commercial prospects”.
As The Playlist notes, this isn’t the first time that Liman has found himself part of a troubled production, although perhaps reassuringly for Lionsgate, the likes of The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Edge of Tomorrow all proved to be solid hits once they finally saw the light of day.
Chaos Walking follows Tom Hewitt (Tom Holland), who lives on the distant planet of New World—a new hope for humanity until struck by “The Noise,” a virus which inflicts immersive visions of ones’ every thought. The cacophony drives many mad until Todd makes a hidden, silent discovery: there is a girl named Viola (Daisy Ridley), who may be the key to unlocking New World’s many layered secrets. Together, the two unlikely companions are forced on a white-knuckle adventure into an unexplored planet – trying to escape and hide in an environment where all thought is heard, all movement seen –as they both discover the truth about the lives they left behind and the spectacular world they’ve learned to call home.
Featuring in the cast of the film alongside Holland and Ridley are Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight), Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), Cynthia Erivo (Widows), David Oyelowo (Selma) and Nick Jonas (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle).