Why The Raid 3 Never Happened
When the Indonesian martial-arts film "The Raid" (released in the west as "The Raid: Redemption") first hit theaters in 2011, kung-fu film fanboys were left prying their jaws off the concrete. Wickedly intense from start to finish, "The Raid" revels in the desperation and brutality of fighting when one's back is against the wall, and every moment is a life-or-death situation. The heroes, an Indonesian SWAT team woefully trapped in a gang-controlled apartment building, don't waste their time with unnecessary talk. Instead, a near-uninterrupted torrent of sublimely executed, bloody fight sequences propel the viewer through the movie.
"The Raid" soon became a benchmark example for modern martial arts cinema, boasting an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. Likewise, its sequel followed suit, delivering a second course of nonstop action all the way until its ending. But while fans have been ready and willing for a third entry since "The Raid 2" released in 2014, "The Raid 3" never happened. And, unfortunately, the series' director has all but refused to make another "Raid" film.
Director Gareth Evans wants to focus on other projects
In an episode of the "Empire Spoiler Special Podcast" released in April 2020, "Raid" director Gareth Evans revealed why he has yet to start work on "The Raid 3" and why he likely never will. Evidently, a large part of it has to do with Evans' other films.
"Before I knew it, I was five years down the line," Evans stated (via Empire). "I'd made Apostle, we were starting to get production going on Gangs Of London. I couldn't see myself going back out to make The Raid 3. My interests had moved on to other projects."
Unfortunately, it seems like time has worked against "The Raid" in this scenario. As excited as fans might be to see another entry in the series, it has simply been too long, and the film's creators have moved on. That being said, Evans certainly thought about it. In addition to destroying his fans' hopes and dreams, Evans revealed the details of his plan for the hypothetical plot of "The Raid 3."
The Raid 3 would have been a very different story
One gripe viewers might have with the series ending at only two films is how "The Raid 2" ends in something of a cliffhanger. In the sequel, following his escape from the gang-infested drug den of the first film, series protagonist Rama (Iko Uwais) goes undercover to root out corruption between large-scale Asian crime syndicates and public officials. When the smoke clears, Rama stands face-to-face with a veritable army of Japanese Yakuza, and he simply says that he is "done." The movie ends abruptly, leaving Rama's fate uncertain.
According to Gareth Evans, however, he simply walks away from the fight: "I was like, 'it can't be about Rama. It just can't, because if he does something to pull himself away from his poor f***ing wife and kid again, I'd be like, 'Hmm, you sort of deserve to die now really. Take some responsibility and be a father for a change!'"
From there, the story of "The Raid 3" would appear very different from what fans are used to. It would follow a member of the Yakuza named Goto and his men, who are attacked after Rama leaves. The film would then jump back in time, revealing that Goto was betrayed by both his Yakuza bosses and his right-hand man. Goto would then flee to the jungles of Indonesia, where he teams with another Indonesian mob boss to take on the Yakuza. Evans told Empire he believed that this film "would have p*ssed off an awful lot of people."