‘The Warriors’ Was Expected to Be a ‘Saturday Night Fever’ Sequel

Walter Hill, director of 1979 cult classic The Warriors, recalled his creative frustrations with Paramount Pictures, saying the studio expected his movie to be a sequel to Saturday Night Fever.

The production was widely misunderstood on its release, with outbreaks of violence at showings leading to its withdrawal from theaters. It was only later appreciated as a multifaceted exploration of the human desire to belong – complete with initially unrecognized comedy tones.

“I told [producer] Larry Gordon, ‘Nobody will ever let us make it. We’d have to shoot at night in New York, and it doesn’t lend itself to star casting,’” Hill told the Guardian in a new interview.

READ MORE: 25 Movies Turning 50 in 2025

When his planned Western movie collapsed, he went back to Gordon and agreed to make The Warriors. “I didn’t get along with the people who ran Paramount and we got off to a poor start,” he admitted. They saw it as some kind of sequel to Saturday Night Fever. It’s pretty hard to imagine more disparate storylines.”

He added: “I wanted Orson Welles to narrate an introduction. His speech was going to last 30 seconds and set up what we were about to see. He agreed to do it – he was broke. However, the studio didn’t want him. They felt an artistic frame would hurt the film’s commercial potential. I thought the audience wouldn’t get the movie without some explanation, but I was completely wrong.”

Shooting took place at night in areas of New York “where gangs ran things,” Hill continued. “They’d say: ‘You’re on our turf and your trucks are fucking up our streets – so pay us.’ They were always bribable. It was $200 a night.”

Key Line from ‘The Warriors’ Was Ad-Libbed

Hill reflected that the phrase “Can you dig it?” was probably the most well-known from the movie, while remembered that another one, “Warriors come out to play,” wasn’t actually in the script. “A car was looking for the Warriors who were hiding under a boardwalk. Luther [a Warriors’ rival, played by David Patrick Kelly] knows this, but there wasn’t anything… for him to say.

“I said: ‘This is too dull. Do something!’ He ran under the boardwalk and got some beer bottles. When we were ready to shoot, he clinked the bottles and said: ‘Warriors … come out to play!’ I said: ‘Don’t change anything!’”

Hill explained the violence surrounding screenings, saying: “The film was attractive to gangs. They’d show up at the cinema, see a rival gang they had age-old animosity with and violence would ensue.

“There were several deaths, and that’s always tragic, but it’s hard to blame the movie. We got a lot of criticism from political and religious leaders – almost none of them had seen it. I’m proud of the movie.”

Watch the ‘Come Out to Play’ Scene From ‘The Warriors’