The Destroyer, which could only have appeared in the 1990s, is a sci-fi comedy that stars film legends Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, as well as star Sandra Bullock. Here are some things you might not know about this hilarious 1993 movie!
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1. One writer accused the film of stealing the plot of his 1986 novel.
Hungarian science fiction writer Nemere István claims that much of The Destroyer was based on his novel Holtak Harca (“Struggle of the Dead”). Published in 1986, Battle of the Dead has almost the same premise as Killer Man: A terrorist and his law enforcement enemy are frozen and then wake up in a future where the world is non-violent. Istvan did not sue, as he could not afford to hire a lawyer and did not want to try to fight the “major Hollywood forces in the US”.
2. Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal got the offer before Stallone.
friends I don’t know what you think about this, but I myself really can’t imagine other actors than Stallone and Snipes starring in The Destroyer. However, neither was the first choice for either the hero John Spartan or the villain Simon Phoenix. And did you know that Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal were the first actors who were considered for the lead roles in this film, but they both turned it down because neither of them wanted to play the bad guy. And unfortunately, it is also known that none of the action stars had much respect for each other. Surprisingly, both Van Damme and Segal were now rising stars at the time, with hits like Van Damme’s “Universal Soldier” and Segal’s “Under Siege” to their credit. In the meantime, Stallone hasn’t had a hit for a long time, although 1993 proved to be a good year for the seasoned star when he released two big hits, “Destroyer” and “Rock Climber”.
3. Stallone wanted Jackie Chan to play Simon phoenix, but Chan refused.
When Sylvester Stallone took on the role of Destroyer hero John Spartan, he had one person in mind: Simon Phoenix. Stallone offered the role to Jackie Chan, a good friend of his who was the number one action star in Asia at the time. Jackie Chan starred in a number of American films, in Cannonball Race and its sequel, but he has yet to truly conquer the West. Chan dropped The Destroyer due to concerns that Asian audiences might not respond to him playing the villain. It wasn’t until Chan starred opposite Chris Tucker in 1998’s Rush Hour that he truly became a big Hollywood star. there is still a reference to the martial arts legend in The Destroyer, as Huxley mentions that she learned to fight by watching Jackie Chan films.
4. Lori Petty was invited to the role of Lenina Huxley, but she was replaced by Sandra Bullock before filming.
From time to time, films start to be shot with a cast that is different from what we see in the final film, as sometimes it happens that the actors simply quit during filming. And that’s what happened with the film “The Destroyer” and with a key supporting role – Lieutenant SAPD Lenin Huxley. The role was originally given to actress Lori Petty, best known for her roles in “Point Break”, “A League of Their Own” and “Tank Girl”, and most recently in “Orange Is the New Black”.
After two days of filming, Petty was replaced simply due to what producer Joel Silver called “creative differences”. And for her part, Petty claims that she and Stallone didn’t get along, saying they were both “like oil and water.” Petty’s replacement was Sandra Bullock, a breakthrough role for the future superstar.
5. Taco Bell changed to Pizza Hut in some territories
One of the biggest recurring jokes in The Destroyer is also a pretty blatant example of movie placement. In the future of The Destroyer, there is now only one restaurant chain in the world, and that is Taco Bell.
Huxley tells us through Bullock that the Mexican fast food company was the only one to survive the “franchise war.” However, there were concerns that the gag would not be used universally, as Taco Bell had not yet entered the global market in 1993.
Because of this, Taco Bell was changed to Pizza Hut in some territories in the film to avoid confusion.
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6. Sandra Bullock treated Stallone like a big brother on set.
Sandra Bullock was a new face in Hollywood when she landed the role of Lenina Huxley in Destroyer Man. And she also appeared on the set at the last moment, when the shooting had already begun. All things considered, Sandra Bullock was a little nervous on the set of The Destroyer. Fortunately, Sandra Bullock later stated that filming The Destroyer was a very good happy experience for her. Unlike Petty, Bullock and Stallone got along very well, so much so that Bullock began to perceive the actor on the set as an older brother. And after the “Destroyer” Sandra Bullock got a role in another action movie “Speed 1994” and from that moment quickly became one of the main performers of the main role.
7. She Predicted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Transition To Politics
For most of his career, The Destroyer star Sylvester Stallone had a long and friendly rivalry with action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the early 90s, Schwarzenegger did not hide his political ambitions, and after about ten years he really took the governor of California. In fact, Schwarzenegger cannot run for president because he was born outside the United States. In The Destroyer, Huxley’s Sandra Bullock says that Schwarzenegger’s popularity prompted an amendment to the US constitution to allow citizens born outside the US to run. And this wasn’t the last time Stallone poked fun at Schwarzenegger’s presidential aspirations:
8. There are several more accurate predictions of the future in the film.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political career was not the only prediction of the future in which the Destroyer turned out to be right. A big part of why the 1993 film still has such a strong status is that it made many accurate statements about where the future is headed. Fortunately, cryogenic prisons did not become a reality, as did the merger of San Francisco and Los Angeles into one city after a terrible earthquake. However, many viewers believe that the world depicted in Destroyer Man, with its extreme focus on sensitivity, safety, and health care, is not that far from how things really are in the early 21st century. Technologically, the film also proved to be quite accurate in predicting the development of the world; some of the technology featured in the film was pure science fiction at the time, but today it has become part of everyday life.
9. The cast and screenwriter have since explained how the three seasheels work.
For many Destroyer fans, one of the most exciting aspects of the film’s vision of the future is the three seashells. How exactly this was supposed to work was not understood by viewers for years, but an explanation has since been offered. Screenwriter Daniel Waters, who claims the idea came after he saw shells in a friend’s bathroom, explained to Stallone that it’s theoretically possible to “hold two shells like chopsticks.” The user must then “pull gently” to remove the human waste. How this will work in practice – not to mention how to sterilize the casings afterwards – is another matter entirely.RELATED:
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10. In the original cryo prison ending, Stallone fought Jesse Ventura.
If there’s one thing about The Destroyer that might confuse fans of ’80s action movies, it’s how the movie squanders Jesse Ventura. The wrestler-turned-actor played a couple of memorable big-screen roles with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s Predator and Running Man. One would assume that he would play an equally important role in The Destroyer, but, unfortunately, most of his filming was lost in the editing. The original ending was supposed to show Stallone’s John Spartan pushing his way through a crowd of recently defrosted bad guys. This included a fight between Stallone and Ventura’s character, but unfortunately the fight with Ventura was cut at the studio’s direction. This was because the first draft of The Destroyer was over two and a half hours long, considered too long for an action film at the time.
11. The storyline with Spartan’s daughter has been removed.
Another element of the “Destroyer” that could not stand the editor’s scissors concerns with the daughter of Spartan Stallone. While this character is still being dated, Spartan was originally reunited with his adult child in the film. The footage of the actress who played the Spartan’s daughter remained in the film’s finale. Some viewers felt that the daughter’s identity had not been clarified, and they were under the impression that Sandra Bullock’s Huxley was actually the child of Spartan.
12. Stallone was “horrified” filming the freeze sequence.
“The Destroyer” shows how Stallone’s John Spartan was framed for a series of murders and sentenced to cryo-prison. As part of this procedure, we see a naked Spartan lowered into a capsule, which is then filled with liquid and then frozen. If Stallone looks perfectly scared during this particular scene, it’s no coincidence because Stallone described that scene as the worst five hours I’ve ever spent on set… I was terrified.” And certainly not to blame him, given the combination of claustrophobia and the risk of drowning (not to mention the fact that Stallone had to walk around naked in front of the public for about five hours). And then four years later, this scene was parodied by Mike Myers in the spy film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
13. Snipes had to slow down his fighting moves because he constantly blurred on camera
When The Destroyer went into production, Wesley Snipes had yet to become a new action star thanks to Passenger 57. Being a true martial artist with a black belt, the actor performed the fight scenes in the film with great confidence. Snipes was considered too good, due to the fact that his movements were so fast that they were barely caught by the camera. Because of this, Snipes was asked to slow down so that his movements could be seen more clearly on the screen. Later, Snipes starred in the action films “Drop Zone”, “Money Train”, “US Marshals” and then reunited with Stallone in “The Expendables 3”.
14. Snipes hated his Simon Phoenix image so much that he shaved his head as soon as filming ended.
Simon Phoenix in the movie “Destroyer Man” has a rather characteristic, and some even iconic appearance. This film and its character were a big influence on one of the most famous people of the decade: NBA star Dennis Rodman. The basketball player became famous in the 90s not only for his sense of style, but also for his sportsmanship. Rodman is said to have drawn inspiration from Snipes’ bleached hair and flamboyant costumes in The Destroyer. But Snipes didn’t like his blond hair so much that he shaved his head as soon as filming ended.RELATED:
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