Given recent developments, will Chad Stahelski be given director's credit for “Ballerina,” or will Len Wiseman remain credited? Stahelski has reshot most of the film, which means, given that he’s likely to be responsible for more than half of the film, he should be credited.
All this to say that “Ballerina” tested again last week, and it very much felt like a Stahelski/John Wick movie. It’s a night and day change. Compared to the original cut shown in the summer, “scores skyrocketed significantly.” Reshoots seem to have potentially saved this movie. Two separate sources are claiming it’s now a good film. We’ll see.
Back in June, I had reported about a “disastrous” test screening for Wiseman’s “Ballerina” cut, and Stahelski, who oversees all things ‘Wick’ for Lionsgate, quickly hopped onboard the director’s chair for the 3-month reshoots. I kept hearing that it was a “mess” and that a major overhaul was needed to steer the ship in the right direction.
I’m not entirely sure how Wiseman got this important job of expanding the Wick-verse in the first place. The only good Wiseman has made in his career in 2007’s “Live Free or Die Hard,” his other credits include two ‘Underworld’ movies and 2012’s misbegotten remake of “Total Recall.”