8 Films Disowned By Their Directors Before They Were Released

Exposed, formerly known as Daughter of God, is a 2016 cop-thriller starring Keanu Reeves. Originally, before studio interference, the film had Ana de Armas as it's lead with Keanu Reeves as a supporting character.

When Lionsgate bought the rights to the film, they assumed (as you naturally do when spending several million dollars purchasing a film) that Keanu was meant to be the film's lead. So, instead of simply misleading their audience and putting Keanu's face in all the posters or editing the trailers to make it look like he was the lead - like a real studio would - Lionsgate just decided to massacre the film on the cutting room floor and edit it to forcibly make Keanu the lead.

Naturally, this annoyed director Gee Malik Linton, who'd shot a bi-lingual drama focused on police brutality and violence against women, only to get a nonsensical thriller instead. Linton rescinded his directorial credit and instead the film was released under the pseudonym "Declan Dale".

The film got awful reviews and made barely any money. Hopefully, Lionsgate will re-release the film with a proper edit, as what we were originally promised seemed genuinely innovative and interesting. Also, maybe pigs will grow wings and fly.