The Raid Director Gareth Evans Signs Exclusive Deal with Netflix: First Up, Havoc Starring Tom Hardy

Director Gareth Evans, the architect of insane, ultra-bloody action flicks The Raid and The Raid 2, is making Netflix his home for the next few years. After gaining a reputation as a hard-hitting action director in Indonesia, the Welsh-born Evans dropped his most recent feature, the Dan Stevens-starring horror thriller Apostle, on Netflix in 2018. The streamer apparently liked what they saw, because Evans has now signed an exclusive deal with Netflix to produce and direct films, according to Deadline. First up on the docket would be a crime thriller called Havoc, starring Tom Hardy.

Evans would be writing and directing Havoc, while also producing alongside Hardy. According to Deadline, “the story is set after a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.” Sounds like a plot that could have some connective tissue to the likes of The Raid, if you ask us.

Evans has been slowly working his way up the ladder in terms of visibility, with Apostle exposing a much wider audience to his particular brand of highly stylized carnage. That film saw him working with a more internationally famous cast, and we can only imagine that Havoc will likely continue his ascent. Netflix hasn’t shown itself to be squeamish about the kind of violence that Evans’ flicks are known for, so they will hopefully be a good home for the director to run wild.

Although Apostle is Evans’ most recent film, he has more recently co-created the TV series Gangs of London for Sky Atlantic and AMC, which premiered in both the U.K. and U.S. in 2020. Hardy, meanwhile, starred in the critically reviled Capone most recently, and will no doubt be hoping for a better reception in this vehicle. We’ll bring you more information as it breaks.