CHAOS WALKING
Tom Holland Rescues Daisy Ridley In Dystopia
On a planet without women, the arrival of a “mysterious girl” threatens to unlock the secret of a mysterious cabal —and no, this isn’t the story of Kamala Harris walking into Mitch McConnell’s office.
Opening theatrically this week, the sci-fi film Chaos Walking stars Tom Holland (the friendly neighborhood Spider-man) as Todd Hewitt, a young man who meets Viola Eade (portrayed by Daisy Ridley of the Star Wars sequel trilogy), following her crash landing. Ridley’s character soon learns that all of the dudes in this planet-wide boy’s club are linked by a telepathic force called “The Noise.” Holland’s character soon has to put his life on the line to protect this “mysterious girl” and to unlock his planet’s “dark secrets.”
The rest of the film’s ensemble is a star-studded cast including Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Doctor Strange) as David Prentiss, the villainous mayor; Musician/Actor Nick Jonas as David Prentiss Jr., the mayor’s son; Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, and Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Hildy Black, an enemy of the mayor, and David Oyelowo (of Selma, The Butler) as Aaron, a father-figure.
The film is based on the award-winning book The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The first story in Ness’s “Chaos Walking” series gives the film its title. This film adaptation from director Doug Liman is best known for Swingers, The Bourne Identity, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
According to Reuters, the film has been in development for a decade since Lionsgate optioned it in 2011. At one point, even the iconoclastic screenwriter Charlie Kaufman allegedly gave the script a pass, as reported by IndieWire.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this long-gestating film was supposed to open in March 2019, but after mixed reviews at a test screening, it went through extensive reshoots. Due to scheduling conflicts with Holland and Ridley, the Wall Street Journal reports that reshoots couldn’t start until April 2019 and ultimately added at least $15 million to the already ballooning budget. According to E-News, location shooting in Iceland and Ireland helped create the film’s stylized look.
It opens on Friday, March 5th, 2021.
