The attempt to make a new version – once touted as a remake – of Gareth Evans' excellent action thriller The Raid has had a typically torturous development battle with actors and directors named then departing. Now, it there is confirmation that Frank Grillo (who has been attached for a while) and his The Grey director Joe Carnahan are involved in a new take on the idea.
As revealed on Carnahan and Grillo's Instagram pages and the Twitter feed of XYZ Films, the plan is to create a fresh spin on the idea of Evans' tower block-based blend of siege movie and martial arts action, with a new idea and different fighting styles. So it's not a remake, more a different angle on the concept.
And this has been quietly known for around a month, as Grillo explained to We Live Film's Fred Topel in January. Grillo explained then that he and Carnahan were in the midst of talks with XYZ to get the rights to do this, and the deal is finally settled. So what makes this one different? "Totally new script," Grillo told the site. "Joe Carnahan rewrote it. Far more faithful to what Gareth did in the first movie and yet it’s an entirely new spin on the film. Gareth is a big part of this because he’s one of the producers. It’s us not trying to remake a film as much as it is to give our version of what that thing was."
And what are they aiming to include? "Insane fights, insane tactical stuff," Grillo outlined. "We’re big fans of John Wick. Those guys are good friends of ours. It’s 10 times better than what that was tactically. We have the best people in the world coming to choreograph what we think will be fights no one’s ever seen before. So to honor what the first Raid movie was but to elevate it."
We'd guess this will go into production once Carnahan is finished with the third Bad Boys film, but it certainly seems like the idea of an American version of The Raid is in good hands right now.