4 Zero: Why aren’t these actors from the first movie in the sequel?

In 2002, we found all three side by side on the 3 zero poster. They tried to protect themselves as much as possible from the ball that was coming at them at full speed. The trio, of which we only see Gerard Lanvin on the promotional material today, is this time surrounded by Paul Debs, Kaaris, Didier Bourdon, Isabelle Nanti (already in the first film, but not on the poster), Shy’m and Mohamed Heni.

But not Laurent Deutsch or Samuel Le Bihan, the two main characters of 3 Zero: Tibor Kovacs, a Hungarian football prodigy, and Manu, his cellmate, who sees in him the opportunity to establish himself in the world of football and becomes his. agent.

4 In the absence of the zero poster, the two actors are no longer on screen. Manu is never mentioned, while Tibor is mentioned as Alain Colonna’s (Gérard Lanvin) last big move, while recalling that it was two decades ago, while football has changed since then.

“We see others again”Director Fabien Onteniente answers with a smile when we ask why their characters didn’t come back. “We can’t accommodate everyone and I’ve watched what happens to a player who doesn’t play anymore – because that’s what happens after twenty years.”

“A way to portray a former player who has transformed and broken into business”

“That’s why I chose it instead Stommy Bugs3 A somewhat fanciful player of Zero who became a consultant on the L’Equipe channel – because many become consultants. I took the model from Habib Bey, a consultant who was coaching Red Star at the time, and this is how Michael Sylvain takes care of Paris 13 Atlético. It’s also a way of portraying an ex-player who has retrained and fallen into disrepair.”

But what was the career of Tibor Kovacs then? “I think that at the moment he is managing a Hungarian football club near Budapest, he has children and he is very happy.”

Another absentee: Gérard Darmon, who played a more minor role in 3 Zero as rogue agent Oscar Marbella. But his character is mentioned in 4 Zero through his daughter Sarah (Shy’m), who reveals that she took over his business after his death. So the issue of his absence comes up a little less in the face of the October 23 release.

Commentary collected by Maximilien Pierret in Paris on October 14, 2024