Few action movies have had the explosive impact of The Raid, Gareth Huw Evans’ non-stop slugfest about a SWAT team trapped in an apartment building full of killers. It was a great concept brought to life with stunning action choreography that took the world by storm, raised the bar for fight movies everywhere, and was almost immediately picked up for an American remake.
But that was years ago, and since then the remake of The Raid has gone through what can only be called “development hell.” Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) was originally attached to direct, but that fell through. Frank Grillo was attached to star, but that fell through. Taylor Kitsch was attach to star, then Chris Hemworth and Liam Hemsworth were supposedly up for the lead roles, and on and on it went until just about everyone assumed the film was essentially dead in the water.
All that changed earlier today. In an unexpected tweet from XYZ Films, filmmaker Joe Carnahan and Frank Grillo (who previously worked together on the hit action thriller The Grey), announced that they were going to be “reimagining” The Raid in the near future.
Joe Carnahan also revealed on his own Twitter account that original The Raid director Gareth Huw Evans is returning to produce the new film, and that it will “hew closer in tone & feel to THE GREY and NARC” than Carnahan’s lighter fare, like The A-Team.
The Raid and its sequel, The Raid 2, are considered high water marks in the contemporary action genre, a call to arms for other action filmmakers to step up their respective games. If Joe Carnahan is going to reimagine/remake/etc. this film he is going to have to make it something truly special to stand out against the original.
Top Photo: Universal Pictures
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
