10 Movies That Changed Drastically Midway Through Production
2. Exorcist: The Beginning
Prequel to the classic 1973 original, Exorcist: The Beginning didn't just go through a few small changes, or even a few major ones: the entire thing was re-done from scratch, after the producers deemed the original version unsatisfactory.
This was the version helmed by Paul Schrader, who aimed for a more psychologically complex movie that was light on bloody violence. Unfortunately for him, this wasn't what the producers at Morgan Creek had hoped for - they wanted something that was more conventional, more "mainstream". So, they took the drastic measure of firing him, choosing to re-build the film from scratch rather than just release the completed cut they had in their possession.
Renny Harlin was brought in as the new director, and he re-filmed pretty much everything, removing characters, adding in new ones, and attempting to make a more straightforward scary movie. While some sets, plot points and locations stayed the same between both versions, Harlin's effort was, by definition, a brand-new film, with the tone and style established by Schrader having been excised.
Funnily enough, Schrader's version was eventually released under the title Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, after Harlin's version crashed and burned. So, basically, this mess of a production was a giant waste of money.