Ahead of the release of his passion project in theaters, Dev Patel appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he shared the tale of breaking his hand on the first day of filming on Monkey Man.
Patel admitted that he didn't tell the doctor about breaking his hand because he'd then be forced to wear a cast and then they'd have to do reshoots, which they couldn't afford.
Said Patel, "Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. In the first action scene, I'm basically a crash-test dummy- my co-star is using my face to break every piece of porcelain in this bathroom and my hand- I heard it snap. And I was like, 'This is not good.' And I said, 'You've got 450 people on an island, and if I go down, the film goes down."
"And you know, we had a purpose, during a really prickly time in history. And I told my producer, 'Don't say anything. Let's just keep filming.' By the end of the day, my hand was like an elephant's foot."
Patel went on to explain that they were lucky to find a private jet that could fly them to Jakarta for emergency surgery. He ended up getting a screw in his pinky finger, that luckily held up during the film's aggressive action scenes.
On March 11, 2024, Monkey Man made its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW). Universal Pictures plans to distribute the film in the US on April 5, 2024. The film received a standing ovation at SXSW at the conclusion of its premiere and went on to receive the Audience Award.
The film was originally going to be released by Netflix but after Jordan Peele saw the pic, he felt it deserved to be released in theaters and acquired the rights through his Monkeypaw Productions banner, which has a first-look deal with Universal.
Coming out of SXSW, Monkey Man has a 93% approval rating from 40 reviews.
Monkey Man Official Synopsis: Oscar nominee Dev Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) achieves an astonishing, tour-de-force feature directing debut with an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel from his original story and his screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).
The film’s international cast includes Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya) and Makarand Deshpande (RRR).