Sources have confirmed to the Tracking Board that Expendables 3 helmer Patrick Hughes is out as director of The Raid remake. In addition, we’re hearing that the project is no longer at Screen Gems, and that XYZ Films is now the sole production company on the film.

Based on the 2011 Indonesian film, the remake centers on an elite SWAT team tasked with raiding an impenetrable safe house in which one of the world’s most notorious drug lords resides. When a spotter tips the drug lord off to the impending assault, the building’s lights are cut and all exits blocked. Stranded on the 6th floor, the squad must fight their way through the city’s most dangerous gangsters in order to survive.

The highly-anticipated remake has been in development for some time. Sources say that despite closely following the original film’s storyline, it will likely take place in the near future, with shooting taking place in Malaysia. True Detective’s Taylor Kitsch was attached to lead with Frank Grillo, though Kitsch has since vacated.

With Screen Gems–and therefore Sony–out of the picture, producers are no doubt seeking a new distributor for the film. XYZ Films has taken over sole production duties, with Aram Tertzakian, Nate Bolotin and Nick Spencer producing, while Kyle Franke oversees for the shingle.

Whether Hughes falling off was due to creative differences or scheduling conflicts isn’t clear, however he is now set to direct The Storm Warning, an epic drama based on the true story of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race disaster. As an Australian native, it’s possible this project became a priority, especially given the fact that The Raid remake’s shoot date was continually postponed. The director, who broke through with his 2010 film Red Hill, started out as a commercial director before catching the eye of Sylvester Stallone in 2013.

The Raid: Redemption, which gained cult status internationally for its high-octane action sequences driven by martial arts star Iko Uwais, was written and directed by Gareth Evans. Evans is still attached as an executive producer for the remake, and has contributed to the screenplay. In addition to Evans, the remake’s script has undergone several drafts from various writers, including Run All Night scribe Brad Ingelsby, and Red duo Erich and Jon Hoeber.

With Hughes out, XYZ is looking to fill the gap with a director who is able to handle the adrenaline-fueled action this remake requires.

@FrankGrillo
Let's put this to rest. I'm no longer attached to #TheRaid in any way.

If, like any reasonable moviegoer, you thought that Joe Carnahan’s “The Grey” was totally rad, here’s some good news: He and Frank Grillo have just announced a remake of “The Raid.” Or, in their words, “a reimagining” of Gareth Evans’ popular action film, which has already spawned one sequel and has another in development. Carnahan announced the news in a brief Instagram post featuring him and Grillo.

“Caracas, Venezuela’s pretty dangerous,” Carnahan says at the beginning of the brief video, “and I wouldn’t go in with this many guys.” Grillo, whose action bona fides have also been displayed in the last two “Captain America” and “The Purge” movies, agrees: “You wouldn’t, right? Maybe six guys…the fighting would have to be something no one’s ever seen,” the actor says, musing on the prospect of their film. “Should we do it?”

Carnahan agrees that they should, of course, which is confirmed by his caption on the post: “It’s going down for real.” On Twitter, meanwhile, he says that the film “will hew closer in tone & feel to THE GREY and NARC. @Ghuevans is producing alongside & has given us his full blessing.”

Updates: In a recent interview (Nov 2016) with Impact’s Mike Leeder, here’s what Evans had to say about The Raid 3: “To be honest I don’t really know. I have an idea and it’s the same idea I’ve had since we were making part 2. Nothing has changed on that front, I just can’t say for sure when I’ll be in the right headspace to do something with it. Whether it was a conscious decision or not, moving back to UK felt like a closing chapter on that franchise – we ended the story pretty neatly (I feel) in part 2. I’m aware there’s an interest for it, and genuinely it is incredibly touching to see people still dropping messages my way asking for it. So never say never, but it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.”

It’s been a couple of years since we last heard word about the The Raid remake, but according to director Joe Carnahan, it may finally be happening soon. Carnahan sat down with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub recently to talk about the upcoming film El Chicano, which he co-wrote and produced, and the Smokin’ Aces filmmaker revealed that he’ll hopefully be starting prep on The Raid in the next few weeks.

The film is based on director Gareth Evans’ 2011 Indonesian action thriller of the same name, with Frank Grillo set in the starring role. As for how Carnahan’s version will differ, he described to Collider the opening of the film, and how it sets up the fact that Grillo’s character is already in rough shape before the titular raid begins:

“You meet Frank’s character having just rotated back from a really, really, brutal special forces operation. He’s got soft tissue damage in his hands, and his rotator cuff is blown out, and they take fluid off his knees, and the doctors basically tell him, “Listen you’re at the razor’s edge of PTSD and you need three months of just nothing, some R&R, because you’re jacked up.’ And in that space he gets the message that his brother, who he thought had been dead for four years, is actually alive and working for a very bad guy in Caracas, and in 18 hours they’re gonna kill his brother. These forces are gonna descend and murder the bad guy and murder the brother, so do you wanna go and get your brother, who you thought is dead? Do you want that opportunity? So that’s where we start.”

As for how he could possibly top the action in Evans’ film, which boasts some insane fight choreography, Carnahan said he aims to infuse each action sequence in his The Raid remake with an intense level of emotion:

“I want the entire movie to feel like the knife fight between Adam Goldberg and the German in Saving Private Ryan. Everything. In every great action film there’s always an emotional quotient that you’re dealing with… You have to have a sense of stakes. For all of the tremendous excess of those last two Matrix films, which I enjoyed the hell out of, they never really got to the tension of just Keanu Reeves trying to answer a phone at the end of the first movie. There was great pathos, there was a great sense of, ‘Is he gonna make it?’ The spectacle I think outweighs the heart and soul of it, and that’s what you have to remember is you’ve gotta have that attached.”

It’s still unclear when, exactly, Carnahan’s The Raid remake will happen, but with him noting that pre could be underway in the next couple of weeks, we could be hearing some big news about the project soon.

Joe Carnahan’s remake of modern-day action classic The Raid has been floating around for years now, with the filmmaker last updating us in April 2019. So, naturally, our own Steve Weintraub asked yet again when the director and Frank Grillo sat down for a Q&A after the Collider screening of Carnahan’s Boss Level. Turns out, The Raid remake is…technically no longer a remake of The Raid. Carnahan revealed he has parted ways with XYZ Films, who own the rights to the Raid films, and is moving forward with the same script under a different title: Zeno, named for his main character.

According to Carnahan and Grillo, negotiations are underway with a “big name” to star, while another name that they “love” is already signed on to play the villain. The duo plan to next shoot a film titled Leo from Toledo with Mel Gibson and move on to Zeno immediately afterward.

Carnahan also offered an explanation of how his film differs from the original Raid film. In director Gareth Evans‘ 2011 version, an elite police-squad assault an apartment block in Jakarta, Indonesia to eliminate a crime lord and his lieutenants. Among the officers is a rookie named Rama (Iko Uwais), whose estranged older brother Andi (Donny Alamsyah) is among the crime lord’s crew.

“The version that I wrote, they don’t ever intend to actually go in [to the building],” Carnahan said. “They think that they’re gonna’ move this guy. So their whole operation is, ‘we’re gonna’ hit this guy in transit.’ It’s not until they realize, ‘Oh, they’re digging in, they’re not moving, we’ve got to now go in and get him.’ It’s a very, very different script…It’s really, really, really about the brothers.”

EXCLUSIVE: Three of the biggest action directors in the game are coming together to help give a new spin on one of the decades most acclaimed action pics. Sources tell Deadline Netflix has come on to a new reimagining of Gareth Evans cult classic The Raid, tapping Patrick Hughes to direct with Michael Bay and XYZ Films on board to produce. Evans will exec produce along with Range Media Partners, who reps all three talents. Hughes will co-write the script with James Beaufort.

The original film was written and directed by Evans and followed an elite Indonesian S.W.A.T. team that becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival and earned instant praise for its insane action sequences and turned Evans into one of the festivals biggest stars. Sony Pictures Classics would release and the film would gain a cult fan base that would lead to a sequel The Raid 2.

Hollywood has since been trying to reboot the title ever since and this looks like the one that will finally make it to production. This version is set in Philadelphia’s drug-infested ‘Badlands’, an elite undercover DEA task force climb a ladder of cartel informants to catch an elusive kingpin.

“We’re incredibly excited about Patrick’s unique vision for this film. It’s a distinctly original take on the material, which promises to pay great respect to the original film while also bringing a fresh approach and perspective that will set its own course in the action genre,” the producers said.

The package has been in the works for some time and Insiders say it all came together after the rights lapsed on the most recent try at a reboot. Once that happened, Bay and Hughes’ reps at WME suggested taking a shot at getting involved in rebooting it and both were game. Since both shared reps, sources add an introduction was made between Bay and Hughes, who instantly hit off as they are both made from the same cloth given their high-octane action ties. On top of that, Hughes new take on the story excited all those involved including Bay and Evans and after taking the package around town, Netflix was aggressive to get into pole position to land the package and following a lengthy negotiation, recently closed a deal.