Before The Raid: Redemption even hit theatres in North America, Sony had already begun developing a U.S. remake of the heavily hyped Indonesian action film. At the time, it seemed unlikely that a Hollywood version could come close to the level of insanity on display in the original, but Screen Gems eventually hired Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) to direct and Taylor Kitsch and Frank Grillo to star. A year later, both Hughes and Kitsch dropped out, leaving the project in limbo. Now this week we are hearing that the remake isn’t dead, however, after XYZ Films made a surprise announcement via Twitter: Joe Carnahan (The Grey, The A-Team) has come on board to direct. Carnahan himself also had this to say about the project:

THE RAID remake will hew closer in tone & feel to THE GREY and NARC.@Ghuevans is producing alongside & has given us his full blessing.

— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) February 15, 2017

It's not a remake. It's a reimagining of the same scenario.
Everybody take a deep breath.
We won't disappoint you, rabid-fanboy-from-Hell. https://t.co/ShPcXmng5n

— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) February 15, 2017

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

Grillo co-starred in The Grey, so it makes sense that they are referencing it here. But does this mean there will be more gunplay and less martial arts? One of the reasons that the movie was delayed in the first place is supposedly because they didn’t think Taylor Kitsch could handle all of the physical stuff. It is unclear if they have another lead actor in mind who already has some martial arts training. Either way, Joe Carnahan will first be directing Bad Boys for Life starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Will you be keeping an open mind about this upcoming remake of The Raid?