Alright, so this one’s been stuck in development hell for what feels like six and a half years, but I’m gonna spotlight it as the first part of this new series of upcoming book-to-movie adaptations I’ve decided to do simply because I adore the books: Chaos Walking, directed by Doug Liman and adapted from the series by Patrick Ness. The movie is I think mostly based on the first book, titled The Knife of Never Letting Go, and it stars Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Nick Jonas, and David Oyelowo, among countless othrers. It is currently scheduled to be released on January 22, 2020.
Chaos Walking follows the story of Todd Hewitt (Holland), a young boy from Prentisstown, a town made up of only men, who is only a few days out from his thirteenth birthday, when he will become a man according to his town’s standards. I think his age is being changed for the sake of the movie, given that Tom Holland is significantly older than thirteen. He’s sent into the swamp with his dog Manchee, where he discovers a hole in the Noise, which basically everyone’s thoughts. He later discovers that this hole is due to a girl named Viola (Ridley), but when he accidentally lets the entire town know that she’s there, they’re sent on a journey across New World pursued by an army. It’s wild.
For my own sake, I really hope this movie’s good. I’m a huge fan of the books, and I really want to see how Doug Liman brings this incredible world to life. I know good and well that Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley are going to do amazing jobs, and I’ve heard that their chemistry is amazing, so I can’t wait to see how they portray Todd and Viola. As far as the plot goes, I really hope they stay close to the book. I’ve heard that it veers away a couple of times and incorporates aspects of the second two books, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men, which should be interesting to see, since the rest of the trilogy builds so heavily on the first installment. I do wish they were making three movies rather than cramming the entire thing into one film, but after the disaster that was the production of Chaos Walking, I don’t think anyone has the stamina to create another film. And who knows? There still could be a chance for another movie! I hope so, at least. The second book is my favorite, and I’d give anything to see Daisy and Tom take on Viola and Todd in that film.
I don’t want to spoil too much, and since the movie’s not out yet (and I refuse to read any spoilers), I can’t write a fully educated blog post. All I can hope is that Chaos Walking lives up to the standards created by Patrick Ness’s incredible book series. And if you’re looking for something fun to read, I’d definitely check it out! After all, you’ve got ten months and two weeks (as of March 9th, 2020) to read the whole series!