Gareth Evans’s action thriller The Raid: Redemption was arguably one of the best movies made in 2011, depending on whether or not you like watching breathtaking suspense and nonstop mind-blowing ass-kicking. Naturally, because it was a foreign film, American studios heard about the buzz around it and started throwing giant burlap sacks with dollar signs on them into vans in order to secure the rights to a remake. What they could have done was simply release The Raid: Redemption as is on 3,000 screens here in the U.S., but then how would they profit from making all of the characters drink Mountain Dew while they fight in front of giant Samsung posters?
Screen Gems ended up securing the rights for the remake, and despite the fact that The Raid 2, which looks just as awesome as the first one, hits American theaters on March 28, the studio has its re-Raid director. According to Deadline, The Expendables 3 director Patrick Hughes has finally agreed to a deal.
The script is from Out Of The Furnace writer Brad Ingelsby and original producer XYZ Films is also producing the new one. Evans, who has already done a sequel, The Raid 2: Berandal, that comes out this month via Sony Pictures Classics, is executive producing and the original fight choreographers are involved too.
Sure, it’s good news that Evans and the fight choreographers are all on board so the ass-kickery looks as awesome as it did the first time (three whole years ago), but why not just Evans the keys to a new franchise of his choosing? Let the guy tell a new story. Leave the stupid, unnecessary remakes to Michael Bay’s production company and his underground training center for directors whose DNA he has enhanced with a genetic concoction that features his brain cells and a Doritos tongue swab from Brett Ratner. The future is terrifying, friends.