We reported just a few months ago that the mega production company Screen Gems was in negotiations to obtain the rights to Gareth Evans’ Indonesian action film, The Raid. Now, the company has officially gained the rights to the film and are formulating their plans for the remake. [Variety]

The Raid centers around an elite SWAT team that becomes trapped in a rundown “safe house” which houses the most notorious drug lords and gangsters. The team is threatened by two highly trained and very violent martial artists killers armed with machetes and machine guns, which the team tries to escape. The project will be produced by XYZ Films, who also produced the original. The same choreographers will also be used in the remake. Evans will serve as executive producer, but has not signed on the write or direct.

If the continuity with the original and the remake stays in place, I’m happy to see they’re making the effort to get the remake right. Having the same choreographers and the involvement of Evans is important and it’s not very often (if ever) that we see an American adaptation of an Indonesian film, so I’m interested in seeing how Screen Gems approaches the project. The remake’s future is up in the air until a script is presented with a director attached and casting a film of this magnitude could easily make or break its future potential.

Check out the original trailer for The Raid. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, picking up the midnight madness audience award.

Does the remake of The Raid interest you?