The Raid 3 gets a new update from director Gareth Evans, who addresses whether the movie will actually happen. Released in 2011, The Raid announced Evans as a premiere action director, in addition to putting star Iko Uwais on the map as an action star. The film, which follows a S.W.A.T. team that becomes trapped in a criminal-infested apartment building, was followed by a well-received sequel in 2014, but The Raid 3 has not yet materialized, with both Evans and Uwais moving on to make other projects.

During a recent interview with EW, Evans shares a promising update on The Raid 3. Though he stresses that nothing is set in stone and that his original plan for the third movie would no longer work, the project is definitely not off the table. Check out Evans’ comment below:

“I’ll see when it can happen, if it can happen, is my really sort of non-committal answer to that question. Initially, I had a concept that would’ve followed immediately after the back of The Raid 2. It was set literally minutes after the second one finished, but then I got busy with other projects, and then, before I even had time to think about it, so many years had pᴀssed that I couldn’t do that version of that film anymore.

So I kind of just left it and cast it aside and thought, ‘Okay, well, I was happy with where we finished in The Raid 2, so I’m probably not going to do another version, not do a third part. So I just dismissed it outright.”

Following his movie away from his original idea for The Raid 3, Evans reveals that he traveled to Indonesia two years ago, reconnecting with Uwais after years apart. This ultimately led to new ideas about what a third movie might look like:

“I hadn’t seen Iko in maybe seven years, and it was the first time we’d met each other in a long time. We keep in touch, we WhatsApp each other all the time, but this was the first time I’d seen him in a long time. And I’ve always seen Iko, because of the nature of how we met and the projects we’ve done, as my younger kid brother. And then, seeing him after the seven-year gap of time, I was kind of struck by how much he’d grown, how much he’d matured, how many different experiences he’d had.

“[I] came away feeling like I got a new concept for what The Raid 3 could be. So I haven’t dismissed it outright, and it might be a conversation to reopen. And it’s definitely something that if I was going to do it, I’d make sure that it was the right version of that film to make.”

Evans stresses, however that he would need to be very sure he could deliver on the expectations set by the first two movies if the project were to move forward. The director notes that he has been “very, very blessed to have such a lovely, supportive fan base on the back of those two films.” He continues: “I’d want to make sure that it was something that could live up to their expectations of what that could be.”

What This Means For The Raid 3

The First Two Raid Movies Set A High Bar

Both The Raid and its sequel are widely considered some of the best modern action movies ever made, with the former playing out as a contained and brutal fight for survival and the latter turning Rama’s story into more of a crime epic. The first film enjoys an 87% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the sequel isn’t far behind at 83%. Both movies have audience-driven Popcornmeter scores of 87%, speaking to just how positive the viewer sentiment is regarding Rama’s saga.

Evans has kept busy in the years since The Raid 2, directing The Apostle (2018) for Netflix and executive producing the hit Gangs of London TV show, on top of directing several episodes. His most release is Havoc starring Tom Hardy, but this film, which was highly anticipated as Evans’ return to action movies, has been met with a mixed response, with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 65% and 39% from critics and audiences, respectively. The Raid 3, then, has the opportunity to put Evans back on top as an action director.

Our Take On The Raid 3

Evans’s Raid Return Would Be Welcome After Havoc

Havoc reviews take issue with not just the story and characters of the new film, but with the action itself. The film has been criticized for not having enough action, in addition to leaning too heavily into gun-based choreography and shaky cam. The Raid movies, on the other hand, were widely celebrated for their dynamic and brutal sequences of hand-to-hand combat. If Evans were to use a similar Havoc approach for The Raid 3, the threequel could prove divisive.

Even though Havoc may not be going over as well as The Raid movies did, the movie still arguably features action that is better than the average action flick, it’s just that Evans has set a very high bar for himself. With Uwais starring and a return to the franchise’s roots, a third film could certainly still be a success. It remains to be seen whether The Raid 3 will ever happen, but Evans not dismissing the idea is a promising sign.

Source: EW