Daisy Ridley's $13 Million Flop Wasted a Sci-Fi Premise That Should Have Been Awesome

In 2021, Daisy Ridley starred Chaos Walka science fiction action film with a premise so good that it should have been a huge success, but ended up being panned by critics. In 2015, Ridley landed her breakout role as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. For three films, Ridley has led the iconic sci-fi franchise through some incredible highs and disappointing lows. In this way, Ridley came face to face with worldwide success and devastating reviews. However, as it turns out, Star Wars isn't the only sci-fi epic Ridley has seen destroyed by viewers.

There are a number of reasons why Chaos Walk should have been a success. Firstly, the cast was truly remarkable. Alongside Ridley, Chaos Walk starring Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Nick Jonas and Cynthia Erivo. Additionally, the film was directed by Doug Liman, who has had previous success with films such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity, and Edge of Tomorrow. To make matters worse, the film was also based on a relatively popular young adult book series. Of course, these details were all secondary to the film's greatest strength of all: its premise.

Chaos Walking had the best premise of any sci-fi movie in the last decade

A strong premise can make or break science fiction

The biggest reason why Chaos Walk should have been a hit is because of its unique premise. The film follows Todd, a young man who lives on a dystopian planet where a species called Spackle has attacked. Afterwards, all the settlers were killed and the men were left with what is known as Noise. Noise makes everyone's thoughts heard and seen for everyone else. However, one day, Todd finds a patch of silence and soon discovers that a girl named Viola is the source of it.

In just a few sentences, Chaos Walk proves to be absolutely convincing. The concept of a world where everyone can hear each other's thoughts is intense, but it's made even better by the genre distinctions and the story's mysterious backstory. As many science fiction lovers know, the premise can be the best or worst thing about a science fiction film, and Chaos Walk apparently had everything going for him. This makes everything even more disturbing the film ended up bombing at the box office and earning 21% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why Chaos Walking Didn't Work Despite Great Premise

Could Chaos Walking be revived?

Ultimately, the main problem Chaos Walk it was that it didn't do justice to its premise. According to critics, the film was boring and unoriginal. With a slow pace and characters that felt underdeveloped and bland, audiences had a hard time investing in the story. Furthermore, Chaos Walk was hurt by feeling more like a set-up for a larger franchise than its own film. At the end, Chaos Walk underutilized its world, its characters, and its storymaking it just another boring sci-fi movie.

Although it has only been three years since Chaos Walk release, there is a chance the film will be revived somehow. Most likely, the story could be given a second chance by being turned into a TV show. With more time, perhaps the producers could delve deeper into the story, unlike the 2021 film. On the other hand, it might be better for the story if it remained just on paper, as a romance format seems like the best thing for it. . Unfortunately, this leaves Chaos Walk in a difficult and dead-end place.