Chaos Walking, at first glance, may seem like just another YA novel adaptation in a field increasingly filled with failed, forgotten attempts. However, two of Hollywood’s hottest new names (riding under the Disney IP umbrella,) in current Spider-Man star Tom Holland and Star Wars sequel star Daisy Ridley are auspiciously joining forces to headline the Lionsgate film project based on Patrick Ness’s 2008-2010 novel series.
The premise of Chaos Walking centers on a dystopian future (admittedly, a worn YA standard), this time taking place on a planetary colony in which the survivors live in fear of a virus known as “The Noise,” which symptomatically manifests a stream of visions, images, words and sounds shared by everyone else. In essence, it could be seen as a metaphorical social media malady.
The young actors currently leading the Spider-Man and Star Wars franchises, respectively, will be in front of the camera before Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow). The film was announced all the way back in early 2017 but was pretty quickly beset with delays. The studio opted for $15 million worth of reshoots but those had to be delayed as well given Ridley and Holland’s very busy schedules. Now it’s back on track.
Daisy Ridley posted the first image from the Chaos Walking set, showing herself and co-star Tom Holland filming on location in costume.
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Chaos Walking Release Date
According to Deadline, Chaos Walking finally has a new release date. The film will arrive on January 22, 2021. This is of course a little ways off from its original March 1, 2019 target.
Chaos Walking Cast
Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) plays protagonist Todd Hewitt.
Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) co-stars as Viola Eade.
Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) plays the villain, Mayor Prentiss.
Demián Bichir (Alien: Covenant) plays Ben Moore, one of Todd’s adoptive fathers.
Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy creator) plays Cillian Boyd, another of Todd’s adoptive fathers.
Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers plays Davy Prentiss Jr., the Mayor’s son and soldier.
Cytnhia Erivo (The Outsider) plays Hildy, the leader of a peaceful settlement
David Oyelowo (Selma) plays Aaron, a violent priest in the New World.
Chaos Walking Story
In the future-set sci-fi epic, Holland plays Todd Hewitt, a boy from an all-male planetary colony, on the verge of manhood, when forced to flee home from the secrets he’s learned after a bizarre viral outbreak that carries the primary symptom of hearing the thoughts of fellow denizens. However, his journey in the wilderness leads him to a surprising first encounter with the opposite sex in a wayward girl named Viola Eade, played by (a blonde) Ridley.
Eclectic screenwriter Charlie Kaufman once took a pass at the script when Robert Zemeckis was attached to the project back in 2012, but Jamie Linden (Money Monster) developed the latest draft with Gary Spinelli (American Made) and Lindsey Beer (Barbie). Chaos Walking is part one in author Patrick Ness’s sci-fi trilogy, which you can read the synopsis for below:
Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
We’ll have more details about the project as they become available.