Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey To Star In MILE 22, Peter Berg To Produce

Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly stated that Berg would direct.

This is a treat that may have been in the making what with the hype that came from a recent instagram post between undefeated UFC champion Ronda Rousey, Indonesian action star and choreographer Iko Uwais and The Rundown, Battleship and Lone Survivor helmer, director Peter Berg. Plus, it's still not clear as to exactly what order things may exactly be happening, although it certainly does help to have an idea about what lies ahead for all three.

According to Variety, the three are tapped to work on the new action thriller, Mile 22 with Rousey and Uwais starring in the story that pits a CIA field operative and an Indonesian cop together on an extemely dangerous and violent mission to confront a politically courrupt foe. Both Rousey and Uwais are coming off quite a few noteworthy accomplishments in the past few years with Rousey continually expanding her film career with The Athena Project and the upcoming release of Furious 7 to name a few, and Uwais staking his claim after three hit films since 2009 with the sci-fi action sequel, Beyond Skyline alongside actor Frank Grillo while just recently collaborating with partner, director Gareth Evans for the coming production of Blister.

It also helps that Rousey herself just came off of a stunning 14-second winning firsr round over the weekend opposite contender Cat Zangano during UFC 184, so the momentum is there, definitive as ever.

"I am a huge fan of what Gareth (Evans) and Iko did on both ‘Raid’ films and I’m very excited at the possibility of working with Ronda and Iko to create a film in the spirit of this new wave of combat cinema emerging from Indonesia,” Berg said in a statement at Variety. “Ronda and Iko will be a very unique and powerful team.”

Stay tuned for more info.

Pre-Production Commences On Gareth Huw Evans's BLISTER

Much of the fandom for director Gareth Huw Evans's currently brewing Raid trilogy has settled since the second installment released last year to much excitement and acclaim. So, it may be an uneasy thing for some to possibly have to wait an extra three years before the saga finishes, although it is rewarding to know that Evans's storytelling vernacular goes beyond one franchise.

As such, Evans is now moving on to other properties, with at least two films now in-development, including the new movie, Blister. Not much is known about the plot of the film as of yet, although the director did offer a small blurb last year while on the road promoting The Raid 2, describing the film as his own take on "the contemporary American gangster story with echoes of The Wild Bunch". Evans has since reunited with his fellow film folk in Indonesia, including Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian fresh from the set of their roles in director Liam O'Donnell's upcoming sci-fi sequel, Beyond Skyline.

Correction: Day 1 of causing mischief with @iko_uwais @YayanRuhian @mpe_very and @gaya_yandi #Blister pic.twitter.com/yDJ7CyyWgi
— Gareth Evans (@ghuwevans) February 3, 2015

Currently, any and all development on a third installment of the Raid trilogy is on hold with Evans now underway with Blister in addition to other projects. Stay tuned and follow Evans on Twitter!

Did Frank Grillo Just Depart THE RAID Remake?

It might not be shocking to some, but unless your hopes were high in catching Kingdom series and The Purge 2: Anarchy co-star Frank Grillo in an upcoming remake of the 2011 contained crime thriller, The Raid, then there's a good chance that isn't happening.

Watching my boy @iko_uwais in #THERAID. There's no way I'm doing a remake of this. Couldn't do it justice. #respect
— frank grillo (@FrankGrillo) January 10, 2015

The tweet comes roughly a month after Grillo wrapped his scenes for director Liam O'Donnell's upcoming standalone sci-fi follow-up, Beyond Skyline in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with co-star and action director Iko Uwais; Uwais himself broke out to huge film festival stardom in the original release of The Raid, directed by Gareth Huw Evans, prior to the 2014 sequel wherein Screen Gems had officially announced plans for a Hollywood remake to be directed by The Expendables 3 director Patrick Hughes.

Grillo has long been tapped as the only actor cast in the remake as of summer last year, answering questions for the curious press wondering about the status of production as it was pushed back from September of last year to sometime this Spring. Now, with Grillo out, it appears the remake of The Raid is without a cast. However, an even bigger set questions remain: With Hughes still reportedly attached to direct and Uwais and his team directing the action, what does Grillo's departure say about the film? Does this potentially leave room for a new actor to take his place at the start of a potential list? Or, is this film even happening?

Discuss.

Yayan Ruhian Sports A Ghastly Image On The Set Of COMIC 8: CASINO KINGS

Indonesia's current film climate is a lagging a bit nowadays, and there have been casualties as a result-namely whatever the heck stonewalled production for Timo Tjahjanto's The Night Comes For Us back in September. Thankfully some projects haven't faltered, including Anggy Umbara's upcoming heist sequel, Comic 8: Casino Kings. 

The film is arriving in 2015 with a larger cast and even greater scope to accomodate its larger budget following the success of its first installment in early 2014. Several cast and set pictures have appeared online, and if you've been enthusiastically following the career of fellow Indonesian action star Yayan Ruhian can expect to see him in the upcoming heist action adventure as well, that is if this picture has anything to say for it.

Ruhian contributed to the pre-production phase of The Night Comes For Us with action star Iko Uwais solely choreographing the fights, and Merantau and The Raid franchise auteur Gareth Huw Evans directing the action. Those efforts eventually got canned while Ruhian has clearly moved on Comic 8: Casino Kings, and training actor Frank Grillo earlier on with Iko Uwais for upcoming sci-fi sequel, Beyond Skyline.

Hopefully some more cohesive news will come our way soon, but in the meantime, it should be cool to see Ruhian on set with a number of seasoned Indonesian action favorites, even if he is ectoplasmic among them, figuratively speaking that is. Besides, One Good Thing and Yakuza Apocalypse should be on the way as well last I checked, and if it is at all in the cards, a hopeful reprisal as a new character in The Raid 3. These all remain to be seen, of course, but they are reasonable hopes to hold onto at least.