The Warriors: Walter Hill explains why he fired the lead of his 1979 cult classic during filming

Warriors, come out and play-ay! Walter Hill, the prolific director of the 1979 cult classic, The Warriors, has sat down with The Hollywood Reporter recently to reflect on the making of the film. While the movie had opened dismally and to controversy, with the subject matter depicting gang warfare in New York at a time when crime was rampant, the film would go on to gain fans and become a cult hit which has since sprouted acclaim and even merchandising.

In his interview, Hill opens up about a scene in the movie where a character named Fox was killed off by getting thrown in front of an approaching subway train. He reveals that the scene was written in when he decided to let go of the actor, Thomas G. Waites, as he could not come to terms with him. Hill explains,

I feel very bad about the whole thing. We weren’t getting along very well. I’m perfectly prepared to think that some of it was my fault. He did have issues — he had some problems in his life and it just wasn’t working. So I took him out of the movie and did a quick rewrite and gave a lot of his material to the Michael Beck character. I’m not proud of this at all. I think had I been a better director, I might have gotten through to him better. But he was, we felt, beginning to be a disruptive force. He’s since apologized. He’s written me a couple letters.”

Hill also expresses regret over cutting a gay faction named The Dingos from the shooting script as he felt it would’ve been progressive since it portrayed them in a positive light and not portrayed any differently from the other gangs. He also talks about not being contacted for any such reboots or sequels, especially since it was announced in 2016 that The Russo Brothers were to have one in the planning stages. “People would ask me, ‘What do I think about Paramount remaking the movie?’ Because there have been so many announcements. And I said, ‘Well, I did mine. Good luck.’”

Hill’s newest film, Dead for a Dollar, is now available for rent and purchase on streaming.