Is It The End Of ‘The Raid’ Franchise?

In 2011, there was a paradigm shift in action films with the emergence of – what can be easily regarded as – a modern classic of Action Cinema, The Raid: Redemption.

A lesser-known Welsh director and a few unknown action talents from Indonesia culminated the dawn of a new era in action films.

The entire action fraternity was taken aback by the sheer brilliance of the film, which had a meagre budget along with other challenges associated with such independent films. But the huge success of the film turned the careers of many associated with the project and made them overnight celebrities. It was not only a commercial success but a critical one as well.

In 2014 Gareth Evans, Iko Uwais, and Yayan Ruhian came together with a highly anticipated sequel. It surpassed everyone’s expectation and became an even greater global hit than The Raid. It also cemented the fact that the first film was not just a fluke, and everyone involved had the talent to produce a bigger film, both in terms of scale and budget.

Since then the entire world was eagerly anticipating for the third instalment in the franchise. There have been so many speculations about the film over the years, but to everyone’s utter disappointment director Gareth Evans recently commented on Instagram that he is done with the franchise.

This is perhaps one of the saddest moments for action fans, as everyone would have definitely wanted – at least one more film – from the creators. There have been talks about a Hollywood remake of The Raid by Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, T A-Team, The Grey) with Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War) in the lead, but there has never been any official confirmation about the film’s production.

It seems like action fans might have to content themselves with John Wick movies for now, but I would sell my soul to the devil to see another Raid film from the team who created the Woodstock of Action Cinema.