It’s perfectly normal for a big-budget, franchise film to undergo reshoots. Most films, especially over at Disney, account for these reshoots in their original shooting schedule. But things begin to get a little weird when a studio brings in new filmmakers to oversee reshoots. That’s when rumors of a dreaded “troubled production” begin to surface. And sadly, it appears that that sort of speculation has hit the upcoming “The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle.”
For those not familiar with the film, this new version of ‘Doctor Dolittle’ is a live-action/CGI hybrid that stars Robert Downey, Jr. as the titular doc. But according to THR, the film has hit a bit of a rough patch in its post-production, which has led to the film’s recent nine-month delay.
READ MORE: Robert Downey, Jr. Talks The (Potential) End Of Tony Stark And His Busy Film Slate
The report says that Jonathan Liebesman, who is best known for his films “Wrath of the Titans” and the rebooted “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” has been brought on to oversee the extensive reshoots for the film, taking over for the original filmmaker Stephen Gaghan. However, the original director was onboard for the reshoots, and reportedly collaborated with Liebesman. It’s expected that Gaghan will remain the sole credited director for the upcoming film.
Apparently, the new three-week reshoots came after Chris McKay, the filmmaker behind “The LEGO Batman Movie” was brought in to overhaul the film. McKay was contacted and brought on to view an assembly cut of the film (soon to be known as the Gaghan Cut, #ReleaseTheGaghanCut you cowards!) and was specifically asked to pump up the animal aspect of the film. Unfortunately, McKay’s schedule prevented him from helming the reshoots.
READ MORE: Robert Downey, Jr & Jude Law’s ‘Sherlock 3’ Pushed To 2021, 10 Years After The Last Film
THR reached out to a source close to production that said, “Gaghan needed help with the animal component of it all. These two guys who had expertise in that field, and they came in to help.”
Joining Robert Downey, Jr. in the cast of the film (most as voices) are Selena Gomez, Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Sheen, Antonio Banderas, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, John Cena, Rami Malek, Craig Robinson, Marion Cotillard, and Carmen Ejogo.
“The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle” was expected to be released on April 12 but was pushed back until January 17, 2020.
