EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway in Malaysia on John Radel’s Indonesian martial arts action film Pendekar (Warrior), starring Iko Uwais of The Raid.
Filming began in early November at Iskandar Studios in Malaysia and is expected to wrap in late December. The film is set to be completed in the first quarter of 2027 with a release planned for later next year. K-Movie Entertainment is handling international sales.
Set in the gritty underworld of Jakarta, the story follows a feared Silat fighter named Jaya who plans to make a fresh start after being released from prison. But when a powerful crime syndicate threatens his orphaned nephew, Jaya is forced to fight again to protect the only family he has left.
The cast is led by Uwais, who came to international prominence as the lead in Gareth Evans’ 2011 martial arts thriller The Raid. He has since starred in Indonesian features The Raid 2 and The Night Comes For Us as well as Hollywood productions such as Peter Berg’s Mile 22 and action sequel Expend4bles.
He is joined by Japanese action star Tak Sakaguchi, best known for action roles in Versus and Re:Born, who has signed on to play the villain, alongside Malaysia’s Alicia Amin of action thriller Chelot. The cast also includes Indonesia’s Ali Fikry and Aisha Nurra Datau, who previously appeared together in Wi Ding Ho’s Mothernet.
It marks the second feature from Australian writer/director John Radel who previously co-directed Singapore martial arts romance Dance Of The Dragon alongside Max Mannix in 2008. Radel is also a cinematographer, most recently on Liam O’Donnell’s upcoming sci-fi action film Skyline: Warpath, also starring Uwais.
Pendekar (Warrior) is produced by Alex Praditya of Asia Media Alliance, Delon Tio of Nation Pictures, Erika North and Nick North of Yeti Entertainment, and Bumsu Lee of K-Movie Entertainment alongside Mike Leeder of Red Packet Media. Uwais and Ryan Santoso serve as executive producers for Uwais Pictures.
K-Movie’s slate of upcoming titles includes sci-fi Seeking The King; action sequel The Roundup 5; and Jéro Yun’s Secret Of My Father; as well as horror Amara from Troll director Roar Uthaug; and an Indonesian remake of The Man From Nowhere led by action star Joe Taslim and directed by Kenji Tanigaki (The Furious).
No comments yet