WFG RATING: A

A Black Lion Pictures film. Starring Miika J. Norvanto and Timo Puustinen.

With the recent release of the 2024 sequel, Rendel: Cycle of Revenge, there had been a lot of talk about what exactly happened in 2019 when the film was being shot. There was the firing of director Jesse Haaja in 2020, followed by the period of the pandemic. There had been talks that the film would never see the light of day, with the blame being placed on producers Miika J. Norvanto and Timo Puustinen.

The truth was finally revealed that when Haaja (who ultimately decided to quit filmmaking in 2022) was fired due to a massive clashing with the producers, leading to a rough cut that even disappointed investors, Norvanto and Puustinen spent the pandemic and afterwards focusing on re-editing and adding VFX to make a more cohesive film with the help of screenwriter Pekka Lehtosaari.

This is a great documentary that reveals the controversy, media backlash, and the triumph the producers experienced with the release of the sequel as they now focus on making films for the international market.

A special Thanks must go out to Miika J. Norvanto for not only letting me know about the film, but you can catch a snippet of my review of Rendel: Cycle of Revenge in the documentary!

You can watch the full documentary in the video above!