Six years on from the moment Screen Gems optioned rights for an English-language version of The Raid, and the project has officially been brought back from the brink by Joe Carnahan and Frank Grillo – just don’t call it a remake.
Instead, Carnahan and Grillo, who has become something of a revamped Hollywood action star thanks to The Purge franchise, are angling their new interpretation as more of a “reimagining of the same scenario.” That scenario being a water-tight thriller involving a SWAT team staging a raid on a high-rise apartment block teeming with gangsters and blood-thirsty crooks. And if you’re worrying that the English-language redo of The Raid will tarnish the legacy of Gareth Evans’ cult original, don’t; not only is the Welsh filmmaker on board to produce, but Joe Carnahan took to Twitter to allay fears that the end product will be a forgettable, largely unnecessary experience.
Here’s confirmation of that announcement, along with Carnahan’s series of impassioned Tweets:
💥 BIG NEWS WEDNESDAY💥 #TheRaid @carnojoe #FrankGrillo pic.twitter.com/ALhgZWgafq
— XYZ Films (@XYZFilms) February 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/carnojoe/status/831936321358663680
https://twitter.com/carnojoe/status/831940106298617856
https://twitter.com/carnojoe/status/831941962844434432
https://twitter.com/carnojoe/status/831941593611448320
XYZ Films will now lend support to The Raid after Screen Gems’ version essentially fell apart at the seams. At one stage, it had Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) and Taylor Kitsch attached. As for today’s revelation, other than the casting of Frank Grillo, no further announcements were made at the time of writing. That said, Carnahan’s last Tweet points to a fresh wave of information arriving via Collider later in the week, so stay tuned for more.
Currently attached to helm long-gestating action sequel Bad Boys For Life, Joe Carnahan is one of the more prolific writer-directors working in the business today, and those of you who’ve followed his career will know that Carnahan has dabbled in the action genre before for Narc, Smokin’ Aces and gritty survival thriller The Grey. He’s also just turned in the first draft for Sony’s Uncharted movie, which Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) will direct. Frank Grillo, on the other hand, has played down talks of returning to The Purge franchise anytime soon, while those holding out hope for the actor to reprise as Crossbones in the MCU needn’t hold their breath.
So, there you have it; The Raid remake reimagining is alive and kicking. But do you believe Carnahan and Grillo are the right match for such an intense, balls-to-the-walls actioner? Let us know your thoughts in the usual spot below.