Not every good scene makes the cut of a theatrical release, and one John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum star mentioned some of his work was deleted from the still very cool final cut. Actor/martial artist Mark Dacascos, who plays lead villain Zero, was hoping at least one scene made the home release, but while the John Wick 3 DVD/Blu-ray/On Demand release that came out on September 10 is packed with bonus features, it doesn't feature deleted scenes.
Mark Dacascos was understandably bummed to see a few scenes didn't make the movie, but he also still has hope to see some of the overall history they shot survive into John Wick: Chapter 4. It also sounds like his role was bigger than he originally expected anyway, so that's a bonus on its own!
Zero is an assassin who also happens to also be a John Wick superfan. He's hired by The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) to enforce the High Table's rulings. Mark Dacascos talked to Showbiz Cheat Sheet about filming even more scenes as Zero than fit into Parabellum.
I did and some of it, a lot of it, didn’t make the final cut. I thought it was a very cool scene with The Adjudicator so I’m not sure if it’s on the DVD. Perhaps it is. There was a lot of history that hopefully we’ll find out about in the next movie.
Well, if they don't add history to John Wick 4, maybe it will be in The Continental spinoff on Starz. That's meant to be a prequel. I'm sure fans would appreciate going deeper into the mythology of this "wacky" world.
Since John Wick: Chapter 3 made huge money at the box office -- and was arguably the biggest winner of summer 2019 -- it was no surprise when John Wick: Chapter 4 was announced. The next movie already has a release date.
Will Mark Dacascos be in it? Zero told John Wick he'll be seeing him, but John replied that he won't. Dacascos said Zero thinks he will see John again -- that because of his training and body and mind control and breath and secret Chinese and Japanese herbs, "there’s a possibility that perhaps, perhaps Zero is catching his breath."
Mark Dacascos told ScreenRant the couch scene with John Wick was easily his favorite aspect of playing Zero, in part because art was imitating life.
The couch scene, because I am a huge Keanu Reeves fan, and Zero is a huge John Wick fan. Sure. So, when I saw in the script that the dialogue was, you know, 'I'm a fan,' I just asked [director] Chad [Stahelski], and Keanu if they feel comfortable if I just pushed it over even more. Not just 'I'm a fan,' but 'I'm a fanboy,' and played that. And it was really fun. I think that was probably one of my most favorite scenes I've ever done.
Mark Dacascos said working with Chad Stahelski was "a dream" but the stunt-double-turned-director didn't leave Dacascos a lot of time for preparation. As he told ScreenRant:
I got the text from Chad Stahelski, our director, on a Sunday to call him on Monday. I called him on Monday, he said, 'Dacascos, things have changed. You're going from a couple of scenes to the lead villain.' I leave Monday night, I got there Tuesday, Wednesday prep, Thursday shooting. So, there was not a lot of preparation for me and I just had to get my mind and spirit and body ready to go 100 miles an hour, you know?
At least it was a pleasant surprise!
I wonder if we can convince Chad Stahelski and Lionsgate to release an extra disc with more John Wick franchise deleted scenes. Keanu Reeves talked a while back about a scene they filmed for the first movie that never made the cut, showing John Wick's book restoration hobby. The first John Wick film had a director's commentary revealing they cut more than 39 minutes of footage. David Leitch helped Chad Stahelski make that movie, and he said (via CBR) "a ton of great shots" were left on the cutting room floor, including just Keanu Reeves walking in cool environments, and part of the ending fight between John and Viggo.
John Wick: Chapter 2 did release some deleted scenes, including this one where John Wick visits the Vatican:
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is currently out on Digital, 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and On Demand with tons of making-of featurettes. Keep up with all John Wick 4 news before its scheduled release in May 2021.
