A full two years after principal photography was completed on the disaster movieGeostorm, the film is going back for reshoots. Indeed, the Skydance production has faced a rocky road to release as theGerard Butler-fronted thriller has had its release date pushed back a number of times. It marks the directorial debut ofIndependence DayandStargateco-writer/producerDean Devlinand revolves around a man (played by Butler) who goes into space in order to prevent climate-controlling satellites from creating “a man-made storm of epic proportions.” As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a subplot involving an assassination attempt on the president of the United States—although it’s a good thing Butler’s involved, as he honed his “stabbing-people-in-the-head-while-protecting-the-president” skills onOlympus Has Fallen.
PerTHR, test screenings of the film did not go well, and onceJerry Bruckheimerwas brought in as a consultant and later producer, the decision was made to go into reshoots. The studio enlistedDanny Cannon, the directing producer onGothamand filmmaker behind theSylvester StalloneJudge Dredd, to direct the reshoots, which reportedly cost up to $15 million.
The reshoots are described as “significant”, with a brand new scientist character having been created while a character previously played byKathryn Winnick(Vikings) was recast.Shutter IslandscribeLaeta Kalogridiswrote the pages for the reshoots, which took place in early December in Louisiana.
This is a significant setback for Skydance Productions, which independently produced the feature as part of its effort to forge new territory as a studio beyond its established franchises likeStar TrekandMission: Impossible. It misfired with the pricey rebootTerminator: Genisys, and now these troubles onGeostormare not exactly welcome.
That said, reshoots aren’t always bad news.World War Zfamously reconceived and reshot its entire third act in post-production, and it ended up being the best part of the movie. AndStar Wars: The Force Awakensunderwent a number of reshoots asJ.J. Abramsshaped the film in post-production. So it’s entirely possible thatGeostormwill be a pleasant surprise when it finally hits theaters—which is marked for June 07, 2025.
We’ll find out next fall, but for now this is certainly a curious development on a project that’s been in the works for a very long time. In addition to Butler,Geostormalso starsEd Harris,Abbie Cornish,Jim Sturgess,Andy Garcia, andMare Winningham.
