Tom Holland's latest movie, Holland's sci-fi film to serve as an exclusive theatrical release.
Based on Patrick Ness' 2008 novel, The Knife of Never Letting Go, Chaos Walking was intended to be the beginning of a multi-film franchise based on a popular YA book trilogy. The story follows Todd Hewitt (Holland), a young man from New World who encounters a mysterious woman who crash lands on the planet. Seeing as women previously disappeared from existence, Todd must protect her from the threatening environment. The men on the planet, including Todd, also have "the Noise," which is a powerful force that puts their feelings on display.
Based on his rising stardom in Hollywood, it makes sense why Lionsgate was eager to put Holland in the lead role for Chaos Walking. After breaking out with his role in The Impossible, Holland gained widespread fame by playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the MCU. It also doesn't hurt that he's starring opposite Daisy Ridley, who plays Viola Eade in Doug Liman's Chaos Walking. Ridley is another young sought-after star following her big break playing Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Unfortunately, not many people will have access to Holland and Ridley's new movie during the initial release, and that seems to be a calculated decision based on previous production issues.
Chaos Walking Was Plagued With Production Struggles & Delays
Chaos Walking experienced an array of setbacks during the production stages. Lionsgate acquired the rights to Ness' Chaos Walking book trilogy back in 2011, but development didn't get going for another five years. The actual filming took place in 2017, but the studio elected to do reshoots due to unsatisfactory test screenings. The initial March 2019 release date was then pushed to accommodate Holland and Ridley's busy schedule with Disney properties. Fede Álvarez stepped in to direct the reshoots, adding another $15 million to the film's budget. After a rescheduled January 2021 release, Chaos Walking was delayed yet again with the shutdown of theaters due to the on-going pandemic.
Rather than push Chaos Walking's debut a third time, Lionsgate decided to dump it in theaters. With the slew of production problems and the already underwhelming reviews surrounding the film, the studio seems to want to move on from the project. Like the situation with Josh Boone's The New Mutants, most parties involved are acting as if there's a preparedness to chalk up Chaos Walking as a loss. With no effort to get a potentially larger audience through streaming, Lionsgate's actions are telling in their perception of the sci-fi movie.
A few weeks before Chaos Walking's US release, the movie debuted in South Korea, coming in fifth place at the box office. This also didn't bode well, which could have affected the decision to release the movie without a major marketing push. Chaos Walking will be going up against Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon at the box office. Unlike Holland's movie, the animated film will also be streaming simultaneously on Disney+ through Premier Access as a way to adapt to the new normal for movie releases.
