Where to begin with “The Woman in the Window?” Back in 2018, things seemed great, with Amy Adams signing on to star in a new mystery thriller from filmmaker Joe Wright, based on a best-selling novel. Film fans were buzzing with anticipation, hoping that maybe this could be a sort of “Gone Girl”-esque awards contending thriller. Hell, the production even signed “Gone Girl” composers, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, to do the music. But more than two years later, the film has yet to come out and has gone through reshoots, a change in studio, and multiple delays. And according to Wright, he’s finally ready to unleash the film on the world and is excited to see what people think.
Speaking to EW, Wright talked about the arduous journey of bringing “The Woman in the Window” to life. And when we say arduous, we mean it. You see, things started to look bad for the film when Fox did test screenings for the film and heard some…not-so-great feedback from audience members.
READ MORE: Tracy Letts’ Experience Working On ‘Woman In The Window,’ Well, “Kinda Sucked”
“Oh my God,” Wright said. “There were some plot points that people found a bit confusing — I would say possibly too opaque maybe.”
So, after the test screenings and the feedback, there were reshoots and a delay.
He added, “So we had to go back and clarify certain points, but I think also we tried to make sure we didn’t oversimplify anything and make things too clear. There’s an enjoyment in not knowing what’s going on, but at the same time, you have to give the audience something to hold on to — you have to lead them through the labyrinth of mystery and fear.”
New scenes and editing weren’t all that got in the way of “The Woman in the Window” being released. During all of this, Fox was purchased by Disney and all release plans for the film were scrapped. Then there was the fact that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score was also abandoned. Finally, the film was shipped off to Netflix from Disney and it appears things are back on track.
READ MORE: ‘The Woman In The Window’ Score By Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross Scrapped
So, with reshoots done, a new studio behind it, and a release date sometime in the first half of 2021, it appears that all that’s left is for Wright to see how the audience reacts to the finished product, which has taken quite a journey to arrive on Netflix.
“I’m very interested to see how people respond to the film and I can’t wait for its release,” he said. “What I hope people will take away from this is a sense that our own fears can incarcerate us. And this is a story about a woman who manages to overcome her own fears, and leave them behind her.”
As mentioned, the highly-anticipated thriller is expected to arrive sometime in the first half of 2021 via Netflix.
Here’s the previous trailer for the film, which was released more than a year ago, when the film was set up at 20th Century Studios aka Fox aka Disney:
