There's a lot of narrative ground for School Spirits, starring Peyton List and Milo Manheim, especially as Season 3 has continued to build out the world's rules, which have expanded tenfold. That leads to some ideas inevitably being left on the cutting room floor—If they even make it that far.
The Direct sat down with School Spirits star Kristian Ventura, who plays Simon, and he revealed a really neat moment in Season 3, Episode 5 that sadly never made it to the final edit.
Kristian Ventura confirmed that the scene in question would have seen "Maddie [hallucinating] in such a strong way, where she actually sees Simon tied like a marionette doll hanging to the ceiling."
He further explained how that scene would have seen"Maddie [hallucinating] in such a strong way, where she actually sees Simon tied like a marionette doll hanging to the ceiling."
"We shot this scene where he's actually playing a puppet," Ventura confirmed, adding that he "can't believe that sometimes studios are willing to pull the plug on something that takes so many people to do." They almost even put Simon "in this Marionette doll makeup" to help further sell the bit.
More of School Spirits star Kristian Ventura's interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim can be read below. School Spirits is now streaming on Paramount+.
The School Spirits Season 3 That Shouldn't Have Been Deleted
Simon Could Have Been a Marionette Doll.
While speaking to The Direct's Russ Milheim, School Spirits star Kristian Ventura revealed that the show cut out what sounds like a really awesome scene in Episode 5 of Season 3 that involved tons of prep to make a reality.
Kristian Ventura: There was a scene in Episode 5 where 'School Spirits' had a bit of a carnival, and there were like different things set up, I think it was five, like a puppeteer show and whatever. There is a scene that they filmed where Maddie hallucinates in such a strong way, where she actually sees Simon tied like a marionette doll hanging to the ceiling...
We shot this scene where he's actually playing a puppet, and part of this choreography was learning how to [be] controlled. And there's actually a dance coach that teaches you how to isolate your elbow and wrist to make it look like this, and it was so fun, but they cut it. And the reason, I guess, why, is it felt so unlike the elements that it has done before, that the show wasn't exactly ready for something of this kind of whatever this was world. But, oh, my god, wouldn't that have been badass to see Simon [that way]?...
Even Ventura "can't believe that sometimes studios are willing to pull the plug on something that takes so many people to do."
Ventura: I can't believe that sometimes studios are willing to pull the plug on something that takes so many people to do, because those were people who are working with you, you know, setting me up in the harnesses for rehearsals on the weekends and yanking me up to the ceiling. It was so, so much work. But that's okay...
He also revealed that his Marionette doll would have even come with some insane makeup.
Ventura: There was something else that they cut too. I think it was just more scenes where, oh, it was a different variation. So what they were trying to do too with the makeup is they were going to have Simon, like in this Marionette doll makeup here, you could see it here, which is a little too much. But then they started to play with some of like, he's a broken doll...
The full interview can be seen below:
