Never one to slow down, action icon Scott Adkins has his third movie of 2025 releasing this weekend when Prisoner of War hits select theaters and video-on-demand. A throwback to the behind-enemy-lines action films of the 1980s, Prisoner of War finds Adkins playing James Wright, a World War II-era British SAS officer who is shot down in the Philippines during the Battle of Bataan. Captured and thrown into a Japanese prison camp, Wright is forced to take part in brutal pit fights against his fellow prisoners, while, at the same time, planning an elaborate escape.
In this exclusive interview with Agents of Fandom, Adkins talks about how Prisoner of War sprang from his desire to do an action version of The Deer Hunter and how an unfortunate injury while filming the movie’s first fight made this shoot a little tougher than most. He also muses about the possibility of working again with Chad Stahelski, his John Wick: Chapter 4 director, and teases another potential sequel in the One Shot series, his action franchise where every film is carefully edited to look like it was shot in a single, continuous take.
Scott Adkins Has a “Story By” Credit for ‘Prisoner of War’
We are here to talk about Prisoner of War, which is quite the action-genre mashup. You could call this a “behind enemy lines” movie, a prison-break movie, a historical war drama, and it’s even got a little touch of Enter the Dragon thrown in there with the ring fights. So was part of the fun of this one getting to combine all of those elements into a single film?
SCOTT ADKINS: That’s what I try to do, to be honest, because I obviously make a lot of action martial-arts films. That’s what I’m known for, and I don’t like to disappoint my audience. I want to give them what they expect. But, at the same time, I want to keep it new and interesting for me. So I like to wrap it up with different genres, whether it’s more comedic or there’s a bit of sci-fi. Or maybe one day I’ll do a kung-fu western. Who knows?
But, for me, this time it was a World War II movie, and I do love those films that are the men against the elements struggling behind enemy lines or whether it’s just a wilderness type of movie. I love that sort of stuff — survival movies is what I’m trying to say. I love that stuff.
You have a “story by” credit on this film. So when and how did you first get the idea to set an action film in the wake of the Battle of Bataan?
ADKINS: I just had this idea in my head knocking around for ages to do a martial-arts version of The Deer Hunter, and I’m thinking, “How can we do that?” Okay, well, Japanese prisoner-of-war camp then, because I can expect the martial-arts element from that more than I could from Vietnam. And then you think of films like The Bridge Over the River Kwai and these hundreds of soldiers trapped in these camps, and I thought, “Well, we can’t do that because we don’t have the budget for that. We need to be a bit more stripped down and dirty — smaller camp.”
I had this two-page synopsis, and I gave it to Marc Clebanoff and Louis Mandylor, who directed it. Marc’s his partner. And Marc went off and wrote a brilliant script incorporating the whole Death March thing into that, which actually happened, and happened where we shot it as well in the Philippines. Yeah, that’s how it all got going.
‘Prisoner of War’s Production in the Philippines Came With Obstacles
You mentioned the budget, and I think it’s fair to say that, obviously, your team did not have the same resources that, say, a gazillion-dollar [Steven] Spielberg war epic is going to have. So I’m wondering, when you’re working on a limited schedule with a limited budget on a film like this, how tough is it to find the time and the money to try to nail the historical and period accuracy of the film? And what are the tricks to getting a movie like this to feel as authentic as possible?
ADKINS: Well, I guess the fact that we filmed it in Bataan, where the Death March happened — that helps. [Laughs] You know … you point, you shoot. We built the set … it existed, the camp. We escape into the jungle — the jungle was right there. And we just got to deal with these gliders, which is a bit more difficult. But it was all achievable on a modest budget. We’re in the Philippines, so we’re gonna be able to get authentic Japanese actors flown over. It’s not gonna cost as much as if we were doing it in the UK, right? So, it was all achievable. And I guess costumes are a worry. The props, the guns — are they gonna be authentic? Are they gonna look okay? You do the best with what you’re given, and I think we get away with that.
You mentioned your director, Louis Mandylor. You guys have worked together a couple times in the past as co-stars. When did you start thinking about working together in a director/star capacity? And how smooth was that transition?
ADKINS: We were talking about him directing a while ago. I had a great experience working on those movies with him. He’s a great guy. We get on very well. We see things the same. On The Debt Collector movies, we always were in unison with how we saw the scenes going — the same sense of humor and everything. So it made sense for him to direct me in something. We had some other things that didn’t work out, and then this one came up. From my idea, his partner wrote the script. And then it made sense, and we got out there and got it done.
We ended up having to shoot it in the rainy season in the Philippines, which wasn’t very smart, but it did look good when we could shoot. But sometimes the rain was so bad that you just had to stop for the whole day. “Oh, we’ll have to go home then.” And we were on a tight schedule anyway, and so you don’t want to lose any more time. But we had to, so it’s kind of a miracle that we got what we got.
But Louis is a great director. As a director, he’s such a good actor that he always gave me great notes, like how to act better. [Laughs] Because he’s a great actor. He has a real sense of cinema, and there’s some great cinematic moments in the movie, which really surprised me. And there’s a gravitas to the film. It’s good. He gets rid of all the cheese, Louis does. He’s very good at that. If it’s not believable, he knows how to just, “Nah, get rid of that. We’ll do something else.” He’s quite good like that.
Are you guys planning further team-ups together already or talking about other projects down the road maybe?
ADKINS: Hundred percent.
Scott Adkins’ New Survival Flick Took a Physical Toll on His Body
So, it’s funny, the next question I had ready was: What was the toughest day on this shoot for you? And, based on your last answer, maybe it was rain-oriented or weather-oriented? Or can you think of a day that was just particularly rough to get through and get the footage you needed?
ADKINS: Well, the good thing about the rain coming down is that I got to go back to the tent and just relax for a bit. Although sometimes you’d be in this tent, and the floor would just start filling up with water. Water would be rushing in on the tent and trying to get my laptop out of the way and all the rest of it. But, at least, I have a rest from all the action. But, honestly, the hardest thing was that, on day one I tore my hamstring.
Oh!
ADKINS: Yeah, so that was not good.
I had no idea.
ADKINS: Well, I’m glad you had no idea. I can see that I’m struggling.
You just worked your way through that during shooting, then, I guess?
ADKINS: That’s the problem. You don’t get to say, “Okay, let’s come back in three weeks and start again.” You just got to keep going and do the best with a lame leg.
Scott, you’re almost making me want to rewatch the film now to see if I can notice.
ADKINS: Yeah, you’ll see it. I’m hobbling. I did it in the first fight scene, which is the first fight scene in the movie. And then the last fight scene in the movie is after I’ve done it. So, if you watch that again, you’ll see me, when I walk out, I’m kind of hobbling.
It Takes More Than Starpower To Make an Elite Action Film
Being that this is a somewhat more serious film, there aren’t a lot of inventive action gags in this one, like there are in something like Accident Man, but there is that great bit at the beginning where you drop-kick a guy into a trip mine, which I just found delightful. And I wanted to ask you, in general, when it comes to any and all of your films, at what point in the process do you start building those great little action gags in? Is it the script phase, or do you come up with those things once you start working with the director and on the choreography?
ADKINS: I’ve got to give props to the action designers on most of my movies cause I always have someone that does that for me. Obviously, I have a lot of ideas. And I’ve got an opinion about many things and come up with some stuff myself. But I prefer to just have talented people that come in and work with me. And, on this one, we had a guy called Stephen Renney, who actually worked on Monkey Man, and he’s very good at moving the camera the right way and designing the action. You can create the best fight scene, but, if you don’t shoot it well, then it’s all for nothing.
We had this really good steady-cam operator come over from Thailand and shoot a lot of those fights in the pit as well. And that helps cause he’s gonna be there for the right points. If the operator doesn’t get the rhythm of the fight or can’t remember the choreography like the stunt performers, he’s often in the wrong place for certain times. So that helps.
Speaking of the ring fights, you have a couple of fights in this movie where your character fights three or more guys at once. And I always feel like the trick with those scenes is to make it look like the hero is truly battling all the guys at once rather than having the opposing fighters attacking just one at a time. I thought this movie does a pretty good job with that, but how tough is it to get those group fights just right with the choreography and the filming when you have multiple bodies moving around?
ADKINS: Yeah, it’s tough. You don’t want to see the guy in the background waiting.
Right, that’s the problem. [Laughs]
ADKINS. It’s tricky! But yeah, I think we did a good job on this one. Just trying to keep two or three people in front of you at all times, and don’t let them get behind you.
Do Scott Adkins and Chad Stahelski Have Plans To Work Together Again?
You have a nice sword fight at the end of this movie that got me thinking. I know Chad Stahelski’s Highlander reboot looks like it’s finally going to happen, and I feel like you’d be an amazing fit for that universe. Have you had any discussions with him at all about it?
ADKINS: No.
Would you like to?
ADKINS: Well, of course. Big fan of anything that Chad does. But he has his vision. He knows what he needs. It’s not just up to him — there’s different elements he’s got to deal with, like studio execs and what have you. I can’t wait to watch and see what Chad does with Highlander. Basically he’s gonna do for swords what John Wick did for guns, so I’ll be the first in line to see it. And should Chad want me in any of his movies in the future, I’ll definitely be there.
Let me ask you about the status of two potential sequels that you have a little more control over. Are there any updates on One Last Shot? And is there any chance that we Ninja super fans are gonna get to see a third Ninja movie at some point?
ADKINS: I don’t think we’ll get a third Ninja movie, but I’m pretty sure that we’ll get another One Shot.
Okay. Those are tough with the “single take.” I’m assuming those take a lot of work, but, obviously, you’re thinking about it then?
ADKINS: I think it might happen sooner than you think.
Prisoner of War releases Friday, September 19, on video-on-demand and in select theaters. Follow Agents of Fandom on socials for all the latest entertainment news and reviews.
