Alex Garcia, the director of that mammoth prison fight scene in Daredevil season three, says that there were no hidden cuts. The scene was shot in one long take.
Daredevil has become known for its epic fight sequences across the seasons, especially in confined spaces like hallways. In the past, these scenes have often looked they were shot in one long take but actually contained hidden cuts where stunt actors would come in and actors could break.
So when fans saw the colossal prison fight sequence in season three, many probably assumed that the same was done here. However, according to director Alex Garcia, they shot the entire thing at once. ComicBook.com asked Garcia if there were any hidden cuts:
“No. No, and honest to God, there is not a single … I was very aware of that. In Season 2, they did that amazing fight where it’s played up as a one-er, but you could see the cuts. [Director Alejandro] Iñárritu does a lot. He did that with Birdman, obviously, where it’s kind of intentional a little a bit, but … One thing I told Chris LaVasseur, the director of photography, and Jeff [Dutemple], the camera opera, was like, ‘Stay wide.’ We went with a wide lens. We were always pretty wide at mid-shot the whole time, so there was … at no point was there a moment where people were going, ‘Oh, wait, they used the wall, or they used the shoulder.’
“We kept it very wide on purpose knowing that the plan B in a way, the sort of emergency button was when after he beats up the guards, the prison alarms start going off, because the riot’s breaking out and we cut to the alarms are going red, and then darkness. Red and darkness. We knew the worst case scenario if we had to, we could use the black out to get out of it, but we didn’t have to. And if anything, Chris LaVasseur, and Erik, the showrunner, they brought up the gain in the color grade, so that when it goes to darkness, they brought up the brightness, so that you still see it. You still see that it’s still the same shot, and we never cut away from it. So honest to God, it’s however long it is, 11 minutes, it’s just one shot.”
The scene is unquestionably impressive, even without knowing that there were no secret cuts involved. What did you think of the fight? Does it stack up well with past Daredevil fight sequences?
SEE ALSO: Charlie Cox and Daredevil season 3 showrunner breakdown that 10-minute hallway fight scene
SEE ALSO: Vincent D’Onofrio confident Netflix won’t cancel Daredevil
Missing for months, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) reemerges a broken man, putting into question his future as both vigilante Daredevil and lawyer Matthew Murdock. But when his archenemy Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is released from prison, Matt must choose between hiding from the world or embracing his destiny as a hero.
Season three of Daredevil sees Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/Daredevil), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin) all returning to the cast alongside new additions Joanne Whalley (Wolf Hall) as Sister Maggie and Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie) as Bullseye.
