Daisy Ridley addresses behind-the-scenes struggles as she films her $13 million sci-fi flop co-starring Tom Holland, three years after the film's release. Ridley was on a roll in 2021, coming off his performances as the heroic Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its pair of high-grossing sequels. Meanwhile, Holland was equally incandescent after becoming the MCU's gritty Peter Parker starting in Captain America: Civil Warand continuing through a series of appearances both in Spider-Man independent films and Avengers box office hits.
Life outside the franchise bubble has been difficult for Ridley and Holland, however, as both young stars have seen their non-Disney projects receive lukewarm critical and commercial responses. Ridley's main vehicles Sometimes I think about dying, Handle, The Swamp King's Daughter and Young woman and the sea It came and went without much fanfare. Meanwhile, Holland encountered equally difficult sledding as he discarded his Spider-suit, with misfires like Cherry and The devil all the time in your ledger.
Ridley addresses the difficulties of filming Chaos Walking
Doug Liman directed the troubled production
Ridley and Holland Chaos Walk flopped heavily in 2021, grossing just $13 million domestically on a budget of $100 to $120 million. It was an easy disaster to predict, as the YA adaptation generated only warning signs throughout its production. Principal photography on the film began in 2017, with the notoriously difficult Doug Liman as director. The film was ultimately pulled from its 2019 release date when increased-budget reshoots were ordered with Fede Alvarez taking Liman's place.
Considering everything that has been reported about Chaos Walkfrom delays in reshoots to replacing the director, it seems like the film was truly a chaotic experience.
Ridley is now getting candid about the difficult work of filming Chaos Walkthree years after the film's delayed release and ultimate failure at the box office. Talking to Empire magazine, she addressed Liman's unusual working methods while also highlighting a particularly difficult scene that left her literally panicking:
“The filming of this… was not without its difficulties. Doug [Liman] works differently than most people I've worked with. Very improvised. But in this scene, I remember feeling the abject terror of playing someone who can't swim and going out into a fairly fast-moving river. I can swim, but when you play someone who doesn't know how to swim, panic takes over you. But I love that outfit, I love that wig, and we get what we can out of those things.”
Seems like she'd like to forget the big budget flop
Ridley and Holland tried to make smaller, edgier films, far from Disney's soft landing spot, and mostly missed the mark. Chaos Walkin theory, it should be a safer proposal, as it is an adaptation of a popular novel, directed by a filmmaker with many successes under his belt.
But the big-budget film wasn't such a solid piece, in hindsight. The dystopian YA sci-fi cycle had lost steam when the film went into production and had already ended when it was released. Ridley and Holland's theoretical financial viability should be another factor in the film's favor, but it appears that it's their big Disney-funded franchises that are bankable, not their own names.
Considering everything that has been reported about Chaos Walkfrom delays in reshoots to replacing the director, it seems like the film was truly a chaotic experience. Ridley's recollections only add to the litany of bad reports from the film's set. It looks like she had a literally terrifying experience in the film, so it's no surprise that she has less than great memories. She at least liked the hair and the costume, thankfully.
Source: Império Magazine