Joe Carnahan & Frank Grillo on what makes their remake of The Raid different

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Gareth Evans’ THE RAID is one of the absolute best action movies out there, and the thought of remaking something already so great doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but here we are. Word of a remake of THE RAID popped up several years ago but the project was ultimately shelved, but just last week it was announced that THE RAID was back in action with Joe Carnahan (THE GREY) directing and Frank Grillo (THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR) set to star. To be fair, they're calling this a "re-imagining of the same scenario" and not a remake, whatever that means, but Carnahan and Grillo recently sat down with Collider for great interview in which they laid out the plans for their take on the project and how it will differ from Evans' original.

Joe Carnahan on how the characters won't be indestructible martial arts masters:

What Frank and I both cotton to is this idea of special operators. Special forces operation guys often times like football players. They’re never 100%. Soft tissue damage in their hands, radial fractures, knees are shot, this and that. So this idea you’re catching a guy who is compelled to go after his brother after he just got his ass kicked in a completely different operation. You’re getting a guy who’s like the walking wounded. So you’re immediately plugging in to this very mortal, very human, everybody’s been hurt, everybody’s tweaked their back; in fact, more people have an affinity and an understanding of that situation than being this completely physically fit monster that doesn’t feel pain

On the level of brutality they're hoping to bring to the project:

There’s a level of brutality, a level of violence. If our movie felt like the knife fight between Adam Goldberg and the German in Saving Private Ryan the entirety of the movie, then we’ve done exactly what we need to do. Something that grueling and tough.

No matter how many times I watch SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, that sequence never fails to put me on edge. I can't imagine how you would keep that going for the entirety of a film, but I'm more than willing to see if Joe Carnahan can pull it off. As for its locale, Carnahan said that his version will be set in Caracas, Venezuela, because it's "a madhouse" and almost like "a safehouse for bad guys." The project has the blessing of director Gareth Evans, but what about RAID star Iko Uwais? Turns out that he's just as excited as Evans to see what Joe Carnahan and Frank Grillo come up with and would love to be involved. Frank Grillo starred in BEYOND SKYLINE with Iko Uwais and became good friends with the Indonesian actor.

So Iko and I did a movie in Indonesia last year.  It’s a big kind of sci-fi movie, and I don’t know where it’s going to come out, when it’s going to come out, but Iko and I became best friends. We became brothers. And he’s my boy.  When he heard this, he reached out to immediately and said, “Is there a place for me in the movie?” This is the guy who originated the role, and was the star in both movies–it’s a film that everyone wants to be involved in, even the guy who is the guy.  So maybe.  Joe said maybe there’s a world where he’s one of the other guys.  Who knows.

Joe Carnahan has already started on the script, which he's writing on spec, but the project is still a long way from becoming a reality.