- “Zoltan is okay!”
- ―Zoltan referring to himself in his usual fashion
Zoltan the Magnificent is a deleted character in Atlantis: The Lost Empire who was recruited aboard the Ulysses as a medium claiming to be able to communicate telepathically with the Atlanteans. He was intended as a counterpart to Milo and other more scientifically-minded members of the crew; however, he was cut from the final version of the movie.
Development[]
Sketches of Zoltan by Regis Loisel
In the earliest version of the script, Zoltan was Persian, wearing a turban, and he was more vain personality-wise, taking pride in his powers and his mission.
In later versions, he was made into an Indian, and his appearance was changed to the one resembling a Hindu sadhu, complete with a pagri (an Indian kind of turban), lungi and bare feet. He also began to refer to himself in the third person as "Zoltan", a detail that wasn't present in the early script.
He was eventually removed from the movie; however, some lines by his voice actor were already recorded by then. One of these lines, "Zoltan is okay!" (shouted after the crew falls down a hole), remained in the movie for a long time even after the character was scrapped.
Role in the film[]
According to the first draft of the movie script by Tab Murphy, Zoltan (while he was still conceived as a Persian) was a member of the Ulysses crew who claimed that he was channeling a 35000-year old Atlantean warrior called Ramtha. During the expedition, Zoltan begins speaking in Ramtha's voice and tells the crew to abandon their mission, or, if they insist on continuing, to visit his sandal shop in Downtown Atlantis.
Once the crew enters Atlantis, Zoltan meets Ramtha who admits that he is indeed a shoe salesman rather than a warrior, and gives Zoltan a pair of new sandals.
Later on, Zoltan attempts to absorb the magical power of the Atlantean crystals and become a living "host" for it in order for Captain Rourke to take it away from Atlantis. But instead, he ends up becoming crystallized himself, and his body is smashed into a million shards which then turn into crystals.
Gallery[]
