Director Gareth Evans Gives Hopeful Update on THE RAID Trilogy
It’s been over a decade since The Raid 2 landed with a bone-crunching bang, and ever since, fans have been asking the same question: will The Raid 3 ever happen?
Director Gareth Evans has usually played it coy, but while promoting his new Netflix action film Havoc, he finally cracked the door open, just a little.
When asked about the long-dormant sequel, Evans told Entertainment Weekly that the status of The Raid 3 is “Definitely maybe,” adding, “I’ll see when it can happen, if it can happen, is my really sort of non-committal answer to that question.”
It’s not exactly a greenlight, but it’s a lot more than fans have had in years. Evans explained that a trip to Indonesia two years ago, and a long-overdue reunion with The Raid star Iko Uwais, stirred something creative back to life.
Even though the two hadn’t seen each other in seven years, Evans said, “We keep in touch, we WhatsApp each other all the time,” calling Uwais “my younger kid brother.”
After their meet-up, Evans shared, “I came away feeling like I got a new concept for what The Raid 3 could be…So I haven’t dismissed it outright, and it might be a conversation to reopen.” It's not a firm commitment, but for Raid fans, it's the first real flicker of hope in a long time.
For anyone new to the series, 2012’s The Raid: Redemption introduced Uwais as Rama, a rookie cop trapped inside a crime-infested apartment block where survival was earned one brutal fight at a time.
The Raid 2 expanded the story, throwing Rama into the even deadlier world of Jakarta’s criminal underworld, building to an epic gang war that somehow managed to outdo the first movie’s relentless intensity.
Both films earned instant classic status, thanks to their jaw-dropping fight choreography, creative set pieces, and nerve-rattling suspense that often bordered on horror.
Since then, the stars of The Raid have exploded onto the global action scene. Uwais has been busy with projects like the upcoming Timur, Joe Taslim is gearing up for The Furious in 2025, and Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman joined Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Evans’ journey with Uwais dates back even before The Raid. The Welsh filmmaker originally traveled to Indonesia to shoot a documentary about Pencak Silat, the local martial art. It was during filming that he spotted Uwais' incredible talent, leading him to cast the then-unknown martial artist in 2009’s Merantau.
After struggling to secure funding for another planned project (Berandal), Evans pivoted, creating The Raid: Redemption with Uwais and later reworking Berandal into The Raid 2.
When Evans returned to the U.K., his interest in The Raid 3 cooled, but he never officially closed the book. Now, thanks to a reunion and a bit of creative spark, the trilogy's finale may not be as far-fetched as it once seemed.