Lionsgate’s current project Chaos Walking hit wall this past month when the first cut was found severely lacking. The film, with its star studded cast including Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Nick Jonas, and Mads Mikkelsen, was expected to wow immediately. But now director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) is working with Fede Alvarez (The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Evil Dead) to do some expensive reshoots to bring the project together.
Chaos Walking is an adaptation of Patrick Ness’s dystopian YA novel about a world where a virus has killed all women. When the project was picked up, YA franchises like Twilight and The Hunger Games were all the rage. Now, after the rush has passed, Lionsgate is looking to appeal to the same type of audience and revive that genre. The release date, which was originally set for March 1, 2019, is now moved back to an as yet undetermined 2020 date.
Now six months after production the film has three weeks of reshoots scheduled, which may be difficult considering the big names on the call sheets. The reshoots are apparently completely necessary, as the cuts were deemed “unreleasable” by Lionsgate executives. Reshoots and re-edits are all part of the filmmaking journey, but are especially common for Liman, who according to colleagues is known for improvising and piecing together the key story in the post-production process. Alvarez is being brought on board to consult on Liman’s process and keep the production on track.
Filmmaking is full of unexpected ups and downs, so hopefully the film can come together to meet its 2020 release.
Leave a Comment