Scott Adkins Wishes ‘Debt Collectors’ Was Just Called ‘The Debt Collector 2’
Scott Adkins and Louis Mandylor are back in Debt Collectors, reprising their role in The Debt Collector. Sue (Mandylor) has three new vigs he asks French (Adkins) to help him collect. So they go to Las Vegas for their newest adventure.
Adkins spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by Zoom on May 21 to discuss Debt Collectors. We’ll have more with Adkins over the weekend. The sequel is now available in theaters and on VOD platforms.
‘Debt Collectors’ is the ‘Aliens’ of the ‘Debt Collector’ franchise, but there’s only one Scott Adkins
The Alien franchise had a fun way of naming its sequels. After Alien, the sequel was Aliens and it had far more aliens in it. There are still only two Debt Collectors but that shows the sequel is the next level beyond the first.
“I suppose so because in the first one I guess Sue was the debt collector and I was the newbie,” Adkins said. “Now we’re the debt collectors together.”
Scott Adkins would rather call it ‘The Debt Collector 2’
Adkins revealed he prefers a straight numerical sequel. Getting clever only muddles the film.
“Honestly, I would have preferred The Debt Collector 2,” Adkins said. “Just say what it is. I like it to say what it is. It’s The Debt Collector number two. I’m a simple guy. I like to keep things simple.”
‘Debt Collectors’ may be confusing the fans
Adkins has a genuine concern about the title. Debt Collectors isn’t distinct enough from the original title, and when people are scrolling through titles on a VOD service, they might not know it’s a new entry.
“The problem is there’s people that think this is the original film,” Adkins said. “They can’t separate the two. They just see Debt Collectors and think, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that.’ So I worry that people won’t watch it.”
Yes, folks. Adkins made a new movie so you should all watch it.
“We’ve put the poster up and stuff and so many comments on Facebook are just, ‘Yeah, seen it, loved it,’” Adkins said. “It’s like no, you have to see it again.”
Maybe the third film can be called The Debt Collector 3.
“We’ll do it with a cubed 3 like Alien,” Adkins joked.
It was not easy for Scott Adkins to become the debt collector again
Adkins has several franchises where he reprises a role in sequels. He said it’s always hard to find the character again.
You’d think it would be [easier] and it is in a sense because you don’t have to build the character from the ground up. You’ve already played him so you can remember what you did. But I remember doing Boyka IV, Undisputed IV and because we did a few scenes to begin with which weren’t Boyka being his normal self. He was in the church and he was talking to the woman. It was Boyka in a new scenario and I was actually questioning, am I playing Boyka right? It doesn’t feel right. He was always in jail so it didn’t feel right. There was a softer side to him.
Scott Adkins, interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 5/21/2020
With Debt Collectors, Adkins was nervous about recreating his chemistry with Mandylor.
“Me and Louis had such an effortless chemistry together in that film,” Adkins said. “We wanted to bring that back but we would question whether we were doing it because it was just organic the first time and it worked effortlessly. Of course, we wanted to make sure that we were doing the same thing. It was strange sometimes. We felt like we were reaching for it too much but these are the things that will go through your head.”
‘Accident Man 2’ will not be called ‘Accident Men’
Adkins is also developing a sequel to Accident Man, based on a comic book he loved as a kid. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic delayed production, but one thing is sure. He will call it Accident Man 2.
“We were supposed to be doing it this month,” Adkins said. “We’ll see, hopefully. It’s dear to my heart of course. I think the new script is really good. I’m really happy with it. Stu [Smalls] did a great job.”
