In a development that feels almost too wild to be real, The Raid 3 is officially moving forward — but not in the way fans expected. The rights to the franchise have been bought by Chinese streaming provider iQIYI. The long-anticipated continuation of the bone-crunching action franchise is now in production, with an unexpected creative force leading the charge: Police Story 3: Supercop director Stanley Tong (A Legend).
For years, The Raid series has been synonymous with Gareth Evans’ relentless, close-quarters combat style — a brutal, balletic approach to action that helped redefine modern martial arts cinema. So naturally, the idea of a third installment without Evans already raises eyebrows. But bringing in Tong? That’s where things get especially interesting.
Tong, best known for his long-running collaborations with Jackie Chan, has built a career on high-energy stunt work, large-scale set pieces, and a more classic Hong Kong action sensibility. His work on films like Police Story 3: Supercop helped define an era of action filmmaking that leans more toward spectacle and charisma than the grounded, bone-snapping intensity of The Raid. That contrast alone makes The Raid 3 one of the most intriguing genre projects currently in production.
Orginal director Gareth Evans (Havoc) will serve as producer with franchise lead Iko Uwais (Timur) returning as Rama along with Yayan Ruhian (The Furious) as Mad Dog. The third entry will take place a couple of hours after The Raid 2 concludes.
iQIYI executives stated that Tong was brought on board as Director due to his experience of working with de-aging technology on A Legend starring Jackie Chan, confirming that the technology will play a major role in bringing Tong’s vision of The Raid 3 to the screen.
“So we’re really excited about The Raid 3. Obviously 12 years have passed since the last one, and we’re not getting any younger, so we’ll be using the de-aging technology to ensure Iko Uwais maintains a consistent look to his appearance in The Raid 2. What I’m most thrilled about though is the story, which takes inspiration from The Godfather Part 2 to tell a pair of parallel timelines – we’ll follow Rama directly after the events of the sequel, but we’ll also go back in time to his training days prior to the first Raid, telling the story of how he became a part of the SWAT team. In an industry first, we’ll use de-aging technology to further de-age his 2011 de-aged version to a de-aged younger Rama 20 years ago, using the technology like it’s never been used before.
Yayan Ruhian has signed on to return as the character of Mad Dog, giving us a unique opportunity to tell his story. So while we watch Rama in his early training days, over in the slums of Jakarta we’ll tell the story of a younger Mad Dog, leveraging the de-aging technology to make him 30 years younger. Who was Mad Dog back when he was still just a young pup? Audiences have been asking this question for a while, and the de-aging technology gives us a chance to answer them. This is going to be The Raid for a new generation, continuing China’s tradition of bringing the best action to the world,” said Tong on a recent Podcast.
Take a look at the first official image of a de-aged Ruhian as a young Mad Dog below.
The Raid 3 is no longer just a distant possibility — it’s real, it’s filming, and it’s heading in a bold new direction that no one saw coming.
SOURCE: City on Fire April Fools
