Marco Brambilla’s 1993 action sci-fi, Demolition Man has a star-studded cast including Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, and Nigel Hawthorne. Brambilla’s directorial debut movie has achieved above-average critical response while earning $159 million at the box office.
In the futuristic sci-fi, Wesley Snipes played Simon Phoenix, a ruthless villain while Stallone played the protagonist John Spartan. The movie follows the villain who was frozen since 1996 but when he was revived in a crime-free society, he went on the same path that his older self possessed glorifying his unstoppable killing spree.
Wesley Snipes’ Superfast Punches in Demolition Man
Wesley Snipes’ character in Demolition Man was iconic, he was a ruthless and charismatic villain in the utopian order in a futuristic world. He blended himself into the character he played.
The dystopian character created havoc in the film. Of course, the element of dystopia was necessary, as the writer of the film, Daniel Waters said of the essence of Snipes’ chaos in the utopian landscape.
“Utopias always scare me because everybody can’t be having a good time. I know I wouldn’t be. If everybody else was having a good time, there’s no way I could have a good time. Utopias actually scare me more than dystopias,” Waters told Vulture.
Back on the set, Snipes was seen to have integrated into the character far too deeply. Reportedly, while shooting Snipes’ kicks and punches, they were so fast that they blurred on-camera. Seeing that, the producers of the movie asked the actor to slow down a bit. Of course, the Blade actor is an accomplished black belt in real life but his integration into the dystopian character was engrossing.
Wesley Snipes In Demolition Man
Many argue that Snipes’ performance in Demolition Man is one of the greatest performances of his career. He has truly immersed himself in the character of an iconic sci-fi villain. However, his co-star and the lead in the film, Sylvester Stallone wanted Snipes’ character, Simon Phoenix to be played by Jackie Chan. But Chan declined the offer because being an Asian actor, he was not in line with being type-casted as villains. Fortunately for Snipes, Chan’s rejection of the action film turned out to be his blessing as he did marvel on the screen as the antagonist.
It is almost safe to assume that Snipes loved playing the character but as per reports at the time, he hated the blonde hair look. Soon after wrapping the movie, the actor shaved his blonde dye job.
Demolition Man was released decades ago but the fan following of the movie is still intact. There was a rumor earlier that a sequel of the movie was in talks but so, far there is no report of production. In 2020, Stallone took to his Instagram to celebrate the movie posting a series of photographs of him and his co-stars Snipes, and Sandra Bullock. “I really enjoyed making this movie. Both Wesley and Sandy were great,” the actor captioned.
Snipes’ recently appeared in Chris Spencer’s comedy Back on the Strip while Stallone will appear in the mega action movie The Expendables 4 which is scheduled to hit theatres on 22 September 2023.
