THE RAID 2 is in production and is now filming

THE RAID was one of the surprise hits of 2012 and has instantly kicked its way into action cinema history as one of the best action flicks ever made, not to mention, elevated the reputation of Indonesian cinema. Soon after the movie was exported to international cinemas and to Hollywood, its producers and director Gareth Evans had announced that a sequel will be made. And indeed production and filming has already begun.[read the rest of the article after the jump]

Production on The Raid 2 is finally winding down, and while the shoot was initially planned to last 100 days, Evans told us that production will actually stretch on for quite a bit longer.

In an interview with Collider, Gareth says
“We’re still shooting it right now.  We’re about a month and a half away from finishing the production of it.  It’s got the same kind of action beats in terms of the style of the action, but our approach this time is to go way more cinematic with it.  We’re expanding the universe out.  We’re taking the story out of that little claustrophobic setting and putting it out into the streets and into the high end gangsters in Jakarta.  It’s a lot bigger in scope.  So fingers crossed people will kind of come along for the ride again.”

He adds
“We should be finished with post by the end of this year and then maybe early next year we can have the release.”

The first film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, but with filming not set to wrap until mid-July, the prospect of Evans finishing the film by September is highly unlikely.  However, it’s possible that The Raid 2 could premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.  Whatever the case, fans are certainly eager to see what Evans has put together for the follow-up.

source: collider