Diablo pits two modern martial arts cinema icons against each other: Marko Zaror and Scott Adkins. It’s pulsating and pulverizing in equal measure, though this isn’t the first time that Zaror and Adkins have locked up against each other on screen. This time, however, it’s more special, because it’s a story that they both conceptualized.
“We were actually shooting John Wick 4 in Berlin,” Adkins said. “We were hanging out with each other because we’re friends – he’s one of my best friends in the business – and we’re discussing if we can come up with an idea that we can both star in a movie. So, we started batting around ideas, and we came up with something resembling what we’ve ended up with. Then we started talking to Ernesto [Díaz Espinoza], his director from Chile who he’s made a lot of movies with. We came up with a story and got Mat Sansom involved to write the screenplay, and obviously he fleshed it out much more than we could.”
Diablo makes sure the action matches the tone of the movie
With two talented fighters on screen, the next consideration was the action. So, what were the discussions that took place about what they wanted to present on screen? “I just said, ‘Marko, I want you to try and take my head off.’ And he said, ‘All right,’ and came at me with everything he had,” Adkins joked. “No, we wanted it to be gritty. You want the action to suit the tone of the movie, so because the tone that we have is quite serious and plays for real high stakes – a gritty sort of feel – we wanted the action to fit that tone.”
Scott Adkins also credited cinematographer Niccolo De La Fere for capturing the magic in real time. “We have a great DP as well, Nicco, who’s a great operator and an ex-kickboxer himself,” he said. “So with the camera work, he could really help be there and move around at the right time, because a lot of operators don’t think like stunt guys or martial artists, and they’re kind of one step behind. But he’s great for featuring all the action.”
The choreography wasn’t too difficult to master, according to Adkins, but the filming schedule was merciless on his body. “I’ve got the majority of fights in the movie, and so when it came to doing the end fight with Marco, I was pretty beat up,” he said.
“It takes its toll. We have to do these films quickly. There’s not a lot of downtime. There’s not a lot of recuperation time. So, by the time we were doing the end fight sequence, my body was pretty battered. And Marco is a complete machine, and he just does not stop. He’s phenomenal, honestly. He doesn’t slow down. He’s the same as he was when I first worked with him in his thirties. So keeping up with him completely destroyed me. It’s not that the choreography was any more complex than any other stuff, but just keeping up with him is what was difficult.”
Marko Zaror shines as the diabolical El Corvo
Clearly, Zaror has the time of his life playing El Corvo in Diablo. Not only is he a deliciously sinister bad guy, but he’s also one in the mold of a James Bond villain with a knife for a hand. “I think Ernesto may have come up with the idea to give him a fake hand that reveals a knife, and we’re all like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s brilliant,’ because it’s something a little bit from left field – bit of a quirky characteristic for El Corvo,” Adkins said.
“But we were worried about whether it was going to work or not, to be honest, because we didn’t have a big CGI budget – there’s just a little bit – and we weren’t sure if we’d be able to do it. I’m glad we did, because it does have that old-school vibe, and it’s got a bit of Live and Let Die about it. We were more inspired by Mr. Han from Enter the Dragon, if we’re honest, because we’re big Bruce Lee fans, of course. But Marco is fantastic as that character, and I think it really works.”
Ernesto Díaz Espinoza left a positive impression on Scott Adkins
Adkins lavished the highest praise on Díaz Espinoza, who had worked with Zaror on the critically acclaimed The Fist of the Condor, which holds a 100% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Well, seeing his movies that he had done with Marco, I was always impressed. They were done very low budget, but Marco spoke so highly of him,” Adkins said.
“I have to say it’s one of the best experiences I’ve had working with a director who’s completely prepared. He’s a cinephile. He knows everything about cinema. He knew exactly what he wanted and what he needed to achieve. He didn’t shoot stuff that wasn’t going to make it into the movie. He had a keen idea for character and script. Actually, he’s one of the best directors I’ve had [in terms of] talking to the actors. A lot of these action directors don’t know what to say to the actor, so they just cast a good actor and let them figure it out. But it was not the case with him. That was impressive. It was really a fulfilling experience working with him, and I’m definitely going to be doing it again.”
Scott Adkins loved improvising with Alana De La Rossa
In Diablo, it isn’t only Zaror’s El Corvo who beats up Adkins’ Kris Chaney, as Kris receives countless tongue lashings from Alana De La Rossa’s Elisa in the film. Speaking about what it’s like to be roundhouse kicked with words instead of feet, Adkins said, “Yes, she definitely runs rings around me verbally, so she should, and she was great. She added a lot of that sassy vibe to the character. She was embellishing on the script and coming up with stuff herself. She is a fantastic actress, and we couldn’t have found a better actress for that part. And yeah, it’s fun bouncing off her and improvising with her.”
There’s a particularly fun moment in the movie when Elisa scolds Kris for saying her name wrong. Turns out that this was actually born out of a real-life incident on set. “I actually couldn’t say the character’s name,” Adkins said. “I kept making a mistake. Instead of saying Elisa, I kept saying Eliza. I guess I was thinking of My Fair Lady or something, and she kept correcting me on it. So we put that into the script, and little moments like that really help.”
As for what’s next for the pairing of Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror on screen, Adkins admitted there are plans in motion, saying, “It’s too early to say, but we’ve definitely got some things cooking.” Let’s pray to the action gods that it somehow is Ninja 3.
