A report from The Wrap claimed that Chad Stahelski had replaced original director Len Wiseman and reshot most of “Ballerina.”
The “Ballerina” reshoots took two to three months, which might as well be close to an entire movie’s worth of shooting, and according to the trade’s insider, it further delayed development on Stahelski’s “Highlander” reboot which led to Henry Cavill signing up for the lead role in “Voltron.”
A rep for Lionsgate has now reached out and tells me The Wrap’s story is “inaccurate.” According to them, Wiseman led the reshoots and Stahelski was only there to “help in the creation of action design on the new scenes that would enhance the film and create bigger action sequences.”
They add that Stahelski only took over as director after Wiseman had suffered a “serious health issue” and was briefly hospitalized. Stahelski, they claim, only “covered” Wiseman’s scenes during that time. When Wiseman fully recovered, he was back on the set and finished the film with Stahelski.
What I don’t get is how Ian McShane, who stars in “Ballerina,” had basically confirmed the reshoots with Stahelski. The veteran actor implied that “Ballerina” was “just not good enough” and that they had to shoot entirely new sequences with another director (Stahelski). According to McShane, the cast didn’t see them as reshoots, but rather “newshoots.”
We’re going to Budapest. It’s not reshoots, it’s new shoots […] obviously, they’ve got to protect the franchise. We shot the movie a year ago. Chad [Stahelski] came in … and they want to make it better because you have to protect the franchise.
In October 2023, Empire City detailed the film as a “mess” and confirmed the additional photography, adding that most of the film had be reshot entirely from scratch. There hasn’t been any denial on the part of Lionsgate about that.
Regardless, I gather Wiseman will indeed be keeping his directing credit in “Ballerina,” even with Stahelski shadowing and then taking over for him. The film did not satisfy the Lionsgate brass and had to be reshot. The good news is that all of this drama as apparently led to “Ballerina” becoming a much better film.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.