Suddenly Alone on France 2: Why Did Gilles Lellouche and Mélanie Thierry Replace Jake Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby?

Broadcast tonight on France 2, Suddenly Alone almost became a Franco-American project directed by Thomas Bidegain, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby! Why did it fall through?

Directed by Thomas Bidegain in 2023, Suddenly Alone presents us with Ben and Laura, a couple who have been together for five years. They have given up everything to fulfill a shared dream: to sail around the world. After months of sailing, they set course for a stop that is as fascinating as it is unsettling: a wild and almost unexplored island, lost off the Antarctic coast.

What was supposed to be a simple stop quickly becomes a turning point. As they venture into the icy lands to explore this hostile territory, an unexpectedly violent storm breaks out. Within hours, the sea rages, landmarks disappear... and their boat vanishes without a trace.

Isolated, without means of communication or reliable shelter, Ben and Laura suddenly find themselves alone in the world, confronted with an extreme environment where every decision can be fatal. The cold intensifies, winter approaches, and survival becomes a daily struggle against the elements as well as their own limits.

Originally, it was not Gilles Lellouche and Mélanie Thierry who were to portray Ben and Laura, but Jake Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby. Thomas Bidegain was set to shoot this project in English, under the title Suddenly.

StudioCanal

Jake Gyllenhaal in Free Fall

In December 2023, Technikart magazine revealed more about the reasons for this turnaround. Until now, artistic differences had been cited to justify this change.

At the time of pre-production, the project was stalled due to Covid, delaying its implementation. "Zoom sessions multiplied, Jake Gyllenhaal seemed excited, to the point that he eventually became a co-producer of the project. The film, having the peculiarity of employing only two actors, was now looking for a prominent actress to share the screen with Jake," explains Technikart.

"Thomas Bidegain had Zoom calls with Margot Robbie, who declined, Ana de Armas, Jodie Comer. We soon arrived at a version that satisfied everyone, and Jake brought in Vanessa Kirby, with whom he had worked in Everest.”

The project was eventually launched with this cast: Jake Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby. The team settled in Iceland for filming, but difficulties quickly piled up.

Amid fears of Covid, growing tensions, unpredictable behaviors, imposed script changes during production—even though it had been approved—and deep disagreements about the very meaning of the film, the situation deteriorated. Nothing went as planned, and the fiasco was total, in just four days.

For instance, terrified by Covid, Jake Gyllenhaal "exploded with rage when he discovered that builders were set to arrive to set up the sets. He declared that they should sleep in their cars. He shouted, insisted that he didn't want any sets, demanded to see the construction plans, called everyone incompetent, and ultimately stated that if it was like this, he was leaving the project. Exhausted from these days of negotiations, Thomas Bidegain shot back at him: Go for it!"

Fatal Divergences

The day before, Jake had gone for a walk alone in nature. He then came across a mare. "Back in the writing room, he shared the communion with nature he felt at that moment and proposed to center the film around this subject: the love of nature."

"He soon showed us on his computer a speech by Greta Thunberg, set to rock music, recalls Thomas Bidegain. It lasted fifteen minutes. During the listening, he let himself cry and commented on his emotions. I’m crying, I’m crying, it’s real tears!"

After four exhausting days, the filmmaker called producer Alain Attal to recount the events. "I’m going to talk to Jake, and we agree that it’s pointless to persist, our visions diverge too much. We won’t be able to shoot in September." Everything was over, and the 26 million already invested in production vanished.

I’m going to talk to Jake, and we agree that it’s pointless to persist, our visions diverge too much.

Ultimately, the project became Suddenly Alone and was filmed two years later, with Gilles Lellouche and Mélanie Thierry. Vanessa Kirby, however, attempted to buy the script from Thomas Bidegain to shoot it with Jake Gyllenhaal, but without success.

"I talked to Alain Attal and suggested selling it to them," recalls Thomas Bidegain. "He replied: Never in a million years, we’re not doing that, you’re going to rewrite it in French and we’re going to shoot it with great French actors." Unfortunately, despite its great qualities, Suddenly Alone performed quite disappointingly at the box office with only 250,000 admissions.