Remakes are a very common thing in Hollywood. Often times, a foreign movie will introduce a great concept but not manage to be able to find their way to American audiences. So, a filmmaker or filmmakers will get inspired to retell the story or revisit the concepts in the hopes of bringing the movie to a larger audience.Director Joe Carnahanhas now officially confirmed that he is going to attempt this withThe Raidand will be directing a “reimagining” of the beloved action flick withFrank Grilloattached to star.
A remake ofThe Raidhas been in the works for quite some time now, butJoe Carnahan, who is known for directing movies likeThe Greyand the upcomingBad Boys 3is now in place as a very important piece of the puzzle. He has worked withFrank Grilloin the past onThe Greyand the upcoming action flickWheelman. Apparently, those were good experiences, because the pair took toInstagramto make it official. Interestingly enough,Doctor StrangedirectorScott Derricksontook to Twitter to express his enthusiasm for the news andJoe Carnahanreplied to him, making it clear that they are not going to disappoint fans ofThe Raid. Here is what he had to say.
“It’s not a remake. It’s a reimagining of the same scenario. Everybody take a deep breath. We won’t disappoint you, rabid-fanboy-from-Hell.”
ThoughThe Raidand the sequelThe Raid 2were not box office smashes, they are regarded as some of the best action movies in recent memory and have become instant classics. That being the case,Joe Carnahantook some time to engage some people on Twitter who were expressing their concerns. He clearly understands the weight of this undertaking and knows that people will have some trepidation about it. When a Twitter user accused this reimagining ofThe Raidas being a cash grab, the director made it very clear that isn’t the case.
“Right, bro, because I’ve spent my entire career in the ruthless pursuit of $$$. That would be news to my accountant.”
WhileJoe Carnahanmay be cashing a pretty decent paycheck onBad Boys for Lifeand he probably was paid a decent penny for writing the most recent draft of theUnchartedmovie for Sony, his resume does seem to speak to the idea that he doesn’t chase projects strictly for money. In addition to assuring everyone that this new version ofThe Raidwon’t be a cash grab, he also confirmed that the director of the original moviesGareth Evanshas given his blessing and will be involved in the new version. Here is what he had to say.
“TheRaid remakewill hew closer in tone & feel to The Grey and Narc. @Ghuevans is producing alongside & has given us his full blessing.”
The premise ofThe Raidfollows a S.W.A.T. team who becomes trapped in a tenement building run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs. This leads to a whole lot of action and violence as the team tries to fight their way out and take out the mobster in charge of the operation. Some have said that an American remake ofThe Raidis unnecessary because 2012’sDreddwas so similar toThe Raidthat it essentially served as a remake of sorts, even though it had some more sci-fi elements to it.Joe CarnahanandFrank Grilloclearly don’t see that as an issue. As forGrillo, he is no stranger tobig action moviesat this point. Not only did he star as Crossbones in bothCaptain America: The Winter SoliderandCaptain America: Civil War, but he also was the main character in both of the lastPurgemovies, which were just as much action as they were horror movies.
At the moment, it is unclear how soon cameras will get rolling on this reimagining ofThe Raid, but with a director and star in place, things should be moving ahead relatively quickly. There is no word yet on an anticipated release date for the movie, but we will surely be learning more in the near future. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more details become available. Be sure to check outJoe Carnahan’s Instagram announcement and his Tweets for yourself below.
