Cult Japanese martial arts star Tak Sakaguchi (Versus, Re:Born, One-Percenter) is taking on Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais (The Raid, The Raid 2) in Pendekar: Warrior, an upcoming Indonesian action film that will mark the directorial debut of award winning cinematographer John Radel. Radel is no stranger to the genre, having previously worked on 2018’s Buffalo Boys and also served as a producer on 2016’s Headshot and 2018’s The Night Comes For Us, both of which starred Uwais.
The film follows a former elite Silat practitioner who walks out of prison determined to leave his violent past behind – a resolution that quickly unravels when a Malaysian crime syndicate moves into his neighborhood, seizing control of local streets and going after the people he cares about. Drawn back into the world he tried to escape, he finds himself the sole obstacle between the syndicate and the community it wants to control. The conflict spirals from street-level intimidation into full-scale warfare, played out across Jakarta’s markets, back alleys and rooftops (via Variety).
Pendekar: Warrior marks Sakaguchi’s first major screen role outside his home country. Having been plucked from Japan’s underground street fighting circuit by director Ryuhei Kitamura to headline the 2000 cult hit Versus, Sakaguchi has maintained a constant presence in the Japanese film industry.
The main production companies and production partners behind Warrior include Delon Tio’s Nation Pictures (Macabre), Erika North and Nick North’s Yeti Entertainment, Red Packet Media through action production partner Mike Leeder (Ultimate Justice), Asia Media Alliance Group (Skyline: Warpath) and Uwais Pictures (Timur).
🔥 Footnote: Could the showdown between Iko Uwais and Tak Sakaguchi join the ranks of cinema’s most iconic martial arts matchups? It has the potential to follow in the footsteps of legendary battles such as Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris in Way of the Dragon, Jackie Chan vs. Benny Urquidez in Wheels on Meals, Jet Li vs. Donnie Yen in Hero, Donnie Yen vs. Sammo Hung in SPL, and Scott Adkins vs. Michael Jai White in Undisputed II. Did we miss any?
Production for Pendekar: Warrior begins in the fourth quarter of this year.
We’ll keep you posted on its progress as we learn more. Until then, we leave you with the Trailers for Uwais’ latest, Timur, as well as Sakaguchi’s latest,One-Percenter:
TIMUR WAS A SHAKEY CAMERA NIGHTMARE
I found a teaser on Youtube from 5 months ago, but one comment labelled it “AI slop” so I’m not posting it.
Good call. It’s obviously click bait since it’s barely into production. Youtube is full of fake/AI slip content now.
I can’t enough of both these legends. I just wish this was done 5-10 years ago. I’m curious how it will turn out. They are both massively talented performers that deserve a high quality cinematic film led by a director with vision. Hope this is the one!