Action filmmaker Gareth Evans wowed audiences around the world with “The Raid” films and returns to the genre with the Netflix flick “Havoc” starring Tom Hardy, and is out promoting the film, leading to an update of sorts on the current status of “The Raid 3.”
Evans took on a Reddit AMA and fielded various questions, where a fan asked for an update on what is happening with “The Raid 3” and if that was happening anytime soon after some previous talk of a development.
“It’s in the past when I first did ‘The Raid 2,’ I’d sort of announced unhelpfully at the time that I had a concept in mind for ‘The Raid 3,’ and that I would make it next after another project that I was set up to do. Then, it fell by the wayside because the concept was set literally minutes after the second film finished. And so the more time went on, the harder it was to even contemplate making that version of a ‘Raid 3.'”
Evans explained his reasoning further and suggested he might revisit a third film in the future: “So when that happened, I was very much sort of like, ‘Yeah, no, done, not finishing it, not doing any more with it.’ And it felt like when Rama’s character says, ‘I’m done’ at the end of ‘The Raid 2,’ that was also an extension of me saying I was done with it…However, I won’t lie and say I haven’t had thoughts about what a potential Raid 3 could be. And on top of that, having traveled back to Indonesia once COVID lifted, and being able to go back again, and seeing Iko for the first time in seven years, all of those memories of making those films then flooded back. So maybe… okay, very long-winded answer of not giving an answer, but it’s definitely on my mind and could be something that we revisit.”
Evans also had a humorous response about being habitually confused with “Godzilla” director Gareth Edwards, “All the f***ing time. Which is fine for me because I get all the lovely messages that he’s supposed to get about the great films that he’s made, and I’m sure he gets the hate mail that is supposed to be coming to me. To be mistaken is a f***ing compliment. If I do get a chance to meet him, I’ll pass on all the love mail.”
The two blood-soaked martial arts films distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, set in Indonesia, helped introduce us to actors Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Arifin Putra, Yayan Ruhian, and Cecep Arif Rahman, the latter two appearing in “John Wick 3“ (we can only pray that Evans is recruited for a spinoff by Lionsgate and Chad Stahelski) for one of the funnier moments in the franchise opposite Keanu Reeves. Uwais played a cop looking to take down criminal syndicates, with the first one paralleling “Dredd,” but the second installment went all-out by amping up the action sequences and stakes to new heights, which was quite the accomplishment.
“Havoc” drops exclusively on Netflix on April 25.
 shares a status update on 'The Raid 3,' which won't be happening anytime soon.){kind=link}