.@GundamFan4Life The Raid 3 isn’t going to be happening anytime soon. Ideas in my head. Nothing written. No set date. 2018/19 possibly.
— Gareth Evans (@ghuwevans) January 21, 2015
It’s possible that you poured yourself a double and wept at this tweet from Raid director Gareth Evans, and there’s no shame in that, but consider the major reasons why pressing pause on the franchise is a good thing.
For one, it allows Evans to branch out, to move away from the sink hole of being known for one set of movies. Proving himself by covering different ground can 1) give us even more fun movies to watch and 2) show future investors that he’s not a one-trick filmmaker. Also consider that his tweet was in response to a question launched by an earlier tweet which read, “Time to find a brand new collection of streets & buildings outside of Indonesia to fuck up with cars and mayhem.”
Sound good? Sounds good. He’s currently working on another project called Blister, as well as UFC/heist movie called Breaking the Bank and whatever else is brewing in his head.
In fact, I’m having trouble thinking of any directors who got their start by making three franchise entries in a row. Maybe Stallone? He didn’t direct Rocky, but he did the next entries. He also had a robust acting and writing career beyond directing, which was limited to Rocky and Staying Alive (a year after Rocky III), at the outset. Someone smarter can probably name a director who began enmeshed in a singular franchise who went on to rich, dynamic careers, but they seem like a rarity at any rate.
Another reason to champion putting the brakes on The Raid 3, there’s no point rushing something that isn’t ready solely because of demand for it. We can wait for a higher quality entry, and it’s not like The Raid franchise involves the kind of complicated serialized storytelling that needs to come out quick or come with an encyclopedia. It’s not like we’ll forget the intricate details if we don’t get to see the third movie in the next three years. It’s more important that Evans and company get the movie right than make it early.
So, even if it would be nice in theory to get locked in a bathroom stall with the third Raid movie, it’s probably a good thing that we have to wait a while. We can pass the time by watching Merantau.
