Development The revival of
Hercules was motivated by the hype surrounding 1982's
Conan The Barbarian.
Menahem Golan also told
Luigi Cozzi that he was a fan of the old Italian
peplums, and wanted to make one as soon as he opened an Italian branch of his
Cannon Films outfit. Several competing
Hercules efforts were planned at the time, such as
Enzo Castellari's
Anno 2000: Ercole a Nueva York or
Sergio Corbucci's
Hercules 1984/Hercules 2000, neither of which eventuated. According to a
Knight Ridder columnist, demand for the character prompted consideration of a re-release of the Steve Reeves films for mid-1982. The project was later split into two separate films,
Hercules and
Hercules and the Seven Gladiators, to be shot
back-to-back. According to co-star
Sybil Danning, the second feature was squeezed in when difficulties with special effects slowed down pre-production for several weeks. Finally, the additional film was repackaged as a standalone product simply called
The Seven Magnificent Gladiators, in which
Lou Ferrigno played a different character named Han. American John Thompson also replaced Hacohen as producer.
Writing Upon the film's announcement, Ricardo Ghione was briefly listed as the screenwriter, but he was soon replaced by Mattei regular
Claudio Fragasso. and is the orphaned son of King
Amphitryon of
Thebes, which contradicts it outright. Ferrigno also insisted that the script be excised of its more adult elements, as he held a responsibility toward the child audience. According to Danning and her manager, the character of
Ariadne was originally much stronger, as she seduced Hercules to make him her instrument of conquest, and dueled him to the death after their falling out. However, it was greatly scaled back in the rewrites.
Casting The titular part was presented to Ferrigno shortly after the end of
The Incredible Hulks TV run. In his September 1982 interview for
Muscle & Fitness, he explained that he idolized Hercules and fellow bodybuilder-turned-actor
Steve Reeves since he was a child. He signed the contract for
Hercules five days after it was offered to him, even though he had previously rejected several different projects. He was also pleased to find a role that combined his musculature with a broader acting range than he was allowed as
Bruce Banner's alter ego. Several actors, including co-stars Danning and
Brad Harris, returned from
The Seven Magnificent Gladiators. Danning had gotten along poorly with Ferrigno during the making of that film. She returned, but was asked to relinquish the part of
Circe, his love interest, and take that of evil princess Ariadne, which was later scaled back. As a result, Danning made unflattering comments about Ferrigno and his wife Carla Green's supposed insecurities during the film's promotion, which annoyed Cannon boss Menahem Golan.
Gianni Garko, a veteran of many Italian genres, had also done many peplums. At an early stage, Swedish beauty queen
Mary Stävin was attached to the female lead Cassiopea.
Training Before he left for Italy, Ferrigno trained under bodybuilding promoter
Joe Weider. He also received weapons training from famed Italian swordmaster and actor
Enzo Musumeci Greco. Ferrigno maintained a strict schedule during the shoot, waking up at 5 a.m. five days a week. He worked out at the American Health Club of Rome, where his presence always drew a crowd of fitness enthusiasts. He started growing his beard right after accepting the role, and did so for 8 weeks. Ferrigno said that he weighed with 3 percent body fat during
Hercules, which was in line with his
Hulk shape. He deemed it the best condition of his entire life at the time of filming, which he reiterated after his retirement. He dedicated a chapter of his 1996
Guide to Personal Power, Bodybuilding, and Fitness to his conditioning for the film.
Filming Hercules was filmed in Italy shortly after
The Seven Magnificent Gladiators, with one source claiming one week between. Photography was slated to begin on July 12. However, another source indicates that it actually started in August. Cozzi focused on those exteriors during the first weeks, which bought some time to prepare the sets his revised screenplay had introduced. They were built at Stabilimenti De Paolis and Elios Studios in Rome. Although early publicity materials touted a respectable budget of $6 million, The film features about 400 effects shots created under the direction of Armando Valcauda, who returned from Cozzi's
Starcrash. Ferrigno was effusive about Valcauda's work, saying that he was "on his way to becoming another
George Lucas". Although Ferrigno sensed a measure of skepticism from the Italian crew at first, he felt that he gained their increasing respect through the shoot, culminating in an ovation after he successfully performed the stone throw. As finding a double of comparable size proved impossible, Ferrigno performed most of his stunts, except in water as he could not swim. He also was given the opportunity to choreograph most of his action sequences. He struggled on a few occasions, such as during the fight with the centurion, where he was hampered by a foot injury incurred during his bodybuilding career. Some sources mention that Ferrigno tore a calf during the bear fight, although another only mentions that he twisted his ankle. He suffered a cut on his knee during the stone throw sequence, and accidentally cut a stuntman during a sword fight.
Post production Ennio Morricone was initially announced as the film's composer, but when Cozzi showed him some dailies and asked him to emulate the style of
Bernard Hermann's score for the
Ray Harryhausen movies, Morricone asked to be removed from the project. Cozzi personally chose
Pino Donaggio to replace him. Ferrigno was not aware that his voice would be dubbed over until he attended the film's premiere. According to
Mirella D'Angelo, she was the only local actor to voice their character in the Italian version. ==Release==