Ever since The Raid came out there has been talk of an American remake. There were several attempts to start that project, but the film ended up in development hell for a while.
That changed earlier this week, and this change can be something good. Joe Carnahan will direct and Frank Grillo will star in it. Both will be producing the film through their XYZ Films production company.
Carnahan took to Twitter to explain his vision of the film. He explained that Gareth Evans, who directed both The Raid and The Raid 2, has given his blessing to the project. Evans is also on board as an executive producer.
Carnahan also said the film will have a similar tone to The Grey and Narc. He also said the following:
You can't remake The Raid, guys. It's a fantastic film. So, ask yourselves why would we be doing it, unless we had something really special.
— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) February 15, 2017
He also refused to use the work remake when talking about the film. He defined it as reimagining and that could make things interesting. But who knows when this will happen because Carnahan is awfully busy at the moment. He’s directing Bad Boys For Life and he’s also prepping an Uncharted movie.
When I first heard about a remake I groaned, but I trust Joe Carnahan. He’s original and effective enough to take this in a slightly different and still make the film enjoyable to watch. People might argue that it won’t top the original, but I don’t think it has to. Brian De Palma‘s Scarface is a remake and I don’t hear people whining about how he ruined Howard Hawks‘ original movie.
Also, on an unrelated note I wanted to leave this here. Joe Carnahan tried to make a Daredevil trilogy years ago, set in the 70s and he put together a sizzle reel to show what he intended to do. Solely because of how cool this is, I trust anything he might try to do.
Angry Spaniard, adoptive Irishman. Writer, reader, tea drinker and video game player/designer.
