Martial arts star Iko Uwais (Expend4bles), best known for The Raid and The Night Comes for Us, is taking his career to the next level. The Indonesian martial-arts icon has officially launched his own production banner, Uwais Pictures, with its first film — the gritty action thriller Timur — already completed.
Serving as both director and lead actor, Uwais makes his directorial debut with Timur, an intense, large-scale action film inspired by true events — specifically Indonesia’s 1996 Mapenduma hostage crisis.
The story follows Timur, a skilled operative drawn into a volatile jungle mission after a group of foreign researchers is taken hostage by separatist rebels. As negotiations collapse, Timur leads a daring rescue that spirals into chaos, testing his loyalty, morality, and endurance against overwhelming odds.
Uwais promises Timur will blend emotional storytelling with the kind of raw, close-quarters combat that made The Raid a modern classic. The film showcases traditional Indonesian martial arts, large-scale military action, and the country’s lush landscapes — all shot with Uwais’s signature kinetic energy.
Through Uwais Pictures, the actor-director is aiming to develop original, Indonesian-made action films that reach international audiences while spotlighting local talent and crew. In addition to Timur, the company has also completed Ikatan Darah (Blood Bond), a fast-paced crime thriller produced by Uwais and directed by Rako Prijanto.
Uwais says the mission of Uwais Pictures is to “create Indonesian action cinema with a global heartbeat — stories that hit hard, but stay human.”
Both Timur and Ikatan Darah are finished and currently being sold to international distributors. With Timur marking Uwais’s debut as a filmmaker, expectations are high that it will cement his position not just as one of Asia’s top action stars, but as a creative force behind the camera.
Timur is set for release on December 18th.