Dev Patel recounts an intense scene in Monkey Man that resulted in an injury. Patel makes his directorial debut in Monkey Man, an upcoming action movie about a man who goes on a campaign for vengeance against the corrupted leaders who murdered his mother. In addition to directing, Patel also stars in Monkey Man alongside a leading cast including Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, and Sikander Kher. Among others, Monkey Man is produced by Jordan Peele, and the film is set for release on April 5, 2024.
Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Patel recall his experience breaking his hand on the set of Monkey Man, According to the actor, this injury took place during the first action scene in the movie, wherein Patel is “a crash test dummy that [his] co-star is using [his] face to break every piece of porcelain in this bathroom.”
While filming the scene, Patel heard his hand snap, but he asked his producer if he could keep going, even as his pain increased throughout the day. Check out the full quote from Patel below:
“Everything could have gone wrong went wrong. The first action scene I’m basically, I’m a crash test dummy that my co-star is using my face to break every piece of porcelain in this bathroom, and my hand, I heard it snap. I was like ‘This is not good.’ And I knew, you know, you’ve got 450 people on an island, and if I go down, the film goes down. You know, we had a purpose during a really prickly time in history. And I told my producer I was like ‘Don’t say anything. Let’s just keep filming.’ By the end of the day my hand was like an elephant’s foot. And we couldn’t afford to put a cast on and VFX it out of this movie.”
What To Expect from Monkey Man’s Action Scenes
Patel’s description alone hints at how exciting the action in Monkey Man is. While stunt doubles were undoubtedly employed at some points during the production, it sounds like Patel was responsible for performing some of the film’s major stunt work, as evidenced by this injury. These action scenes were also high-stakes given the budget for the production, which would not have allowed for many delays nor would it have allowed for things like “put[ting] a cast on and VFX it out of [the] movie.”
Based on the Monkey Man trailer, it does seem like the action in Monkey Man results in fairly unrelenting violence. Patel’s protagonist has seen traumatic atrocities occur to his family, as he witnessed the murder of his mother. Now, the revenge that he seeks is bloodsoaked revenge, as Patel’s character goes to challenge corrupt forces, armed with guns and his bare hands.
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So far, Monkey Man’s intense action sequences are resulting in positive reviews for the film. At the time of writing, Monkey Man holds an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with 41 reviews so far. While this score could change in the coming days, Monkey Man‘s early reviews are a promising sign that the film’s elevated action has paid off. Hopefully, this does pan out to be true, so that Patel’s injuries on the set of Monkey Man are not for naught.
