Spoilers for the Season 2 finale of 1923 are forward! To stream the primary two seasons in full, all you want is a Paramount+ subscription.
Within the Season 2 finale of 1923, there’s a ton of jaw-dropping motion (the practice station and ranch fights) and divulges (Alex’s child being named John). Nevertheless, I’d argue that essentially the most badass second of this entire episode got here after Spencer Dutton killed Donald Whitfield after which walked out of his burning home subsequent to Jacob Dutton. So, clearly, I needed to ask Brandon Sklenar what it was wish to movie such an epic second with Harrison Ford, and he in contrast it to Die Laborious and John Wick.
Because the finale aired on the 2025 TV schedule, and I watched this scene particularly for the primary time, I couldn’t assist however take into consideration among the greatest motion motion pictures and moments the place characters stroll away from an explosion or a burning constructing with out wanting again at it. It seems, Sklenar couldn’t both, as he understandably likened this scene to Die Laborious and John Wick, telling me:
I felt precisely the way you felt watching it. It is that factor. It is that shot that you simply see in so many motion pictures, motion movies, the place it is, you understand, Die Laborious strolling away from a blown up constructing. It is all in our brains. We have all seen it. It is in all probability in John Wick 100 occasions. That is what Taylor [Sheridan] was doing, his model of that, for certain.
It feels necessary to notice that the truth that John McClane is nicknamed Mr. Cowboy by Hans Gruber in Die Laborious makes this even higher.
Plus, in loads of methods, Sepncer’s absolute annihilation of everybody attempting to take down his household jogged my memory loads of Bruce Willis’ iconic film and his characters’ actions in it. So, the stroll out of the burning constructing after killing Whitfield was the cherry on prime, and it 100% gave large Die Laborious and John Wick vitality.
Sklenar additionally cherished filming this scene as a result of it paid homage to iconic motion movies and, you understand, he bought to do it with Harrison Ford, as he defined:
And simply the little child in me to have the ability to do this, I’ve by no means executed that in something. Had just like the shot of me killing the blokes and strolling out of a burning constructing. However to do it subsequent to Harrison Ford is fairly cool, and it was actually cool.
Whereas Bruce Willis and Keanu Reeves are motion heroes Sklenar particularly talked about, let’s not neglect that Harrison Ford is on the middle of the Indiana Jones movies and Star Wars motion pictures. So, not solely did the Drop actor get to play out a traditional motion second, he additionally bought to do it with a bonafide motion star.
He was very conscious of that too, gushing in regards to the Shrinking actor whereas he instructed me about filming this epic occasion.
At one level whereas filming the scene the place Spencer and Jacob stroll out of the burning home, Slkenar mentioned he and Ford simply saved strolling and strolling towards the cameras with out stopping. Then, at one level, his co-star instructed him to make a run for it:
As soon as we handed the cameras, he was like, ‘Run, child, run.’ After which we simply took off sprinting, and he simply sprinted away from the cameras. And it was a extremely enjoyable second, as a result of that man is simply the most effective. He is the most effective. He is simply as cool and as pleasant and as candy as you possibly can presumably need him to be. And it was only a actually cool expertise.
Nicely that story simply makes this entire complete state of affairs even higher. Whereas they appeared completely badass within the second, I’m perhaps much more obsessive about how a lot enjoyable the gave the impression to be having whereas capturing it.
There’s no denying that these action-packed and death-filled episodes of 1923 have been epic and executed on a grand scale, and this scene particularly is a superb instance of that. So, yeah, I can see why the actual Mr. Cowboy in contrast it to Die Laborious’s Mr. Cowboy and different beloved motion flicks.