‘Chaos Walking’ is Delayed Again, But It’s on Its Way

‘Chaos Walking,’ the upcoming sci-fi from Doug Liman (‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’) has been delayed again. But it’s coming.

Lionsgate is producing and distributing the film, and summarizes the plot as such:

In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt discovers Viola, a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets.

Filming took place between August and November 2017, and was originally scheduled for a March 2019 release. It was first pushed back by necessary reshoots after poor test screenings. Those reshoots were not able to take place until April 2019, thanks to the filming schedule of stars Daisy Ridley (‘Star Wars’) and Tom Holland (‘Spider-Man.‘) Then rescheduled for a January 2021 released, it will now release March 2021, thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The film is based on the book trilogy by Patrick Ness (‘A Monster Calls,’) and will be adapting the first book in the series–‘The Knife of Never Letting Go.‘ Ness also wrote the final version of the screenplay, along with Christopher Ford (‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’)

First announced in 2011, the film has gone through its fair share of bumps in the road. In 2012, Charlie Kaufman (‘Being John Malkovich,’ ‘Adaptation’) was originally hired to write the screenplay. By 2016 it was confirmed he had left the project, and the script had been revised by Jamie Linden, Lindsey Beer, Gary Spinelli, and John Lee Hancock, before finally landing with Ness and Ford.

Ridley, a fan of the books, was the first cast member announced in August 2016, followed by Holland that November. By October 2017, the film rounded out its star-studded cast with Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Kurt Sutter, Nick Jonas, David Oyelowo, Cynthia Erivo, and Óscar Jaenada.

This March release is set to include an IMAX presentation, so hopefully third time’s the charm for ‘Chaos Walking’–a film that’s been a long time coming.