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Action fans are about to lose their collective minds as two of the genre’s biggest stars are now officially in a collision course with each other and we will all be witness to the greatness that will l transpire from it.
Iko Uwais is set to film his newest martial arts actioner and this time his foe is as legit as they come. The film is called Pendekar: Warrior and with that, Uwais is ready to center the ring with Japan’s most lethal action star in Tak Sakaguchi. The latter is considered by many hardcore genre fans to be one of the best in the business and now these two giants of adrenaline pumping cinema are about to square off!
Per Variety: Japanese cult action star Tak Sakaguchi has signed on to play the nemesis of Iko Uwais in “Pendekar: Warrior,” an upcoming martial-arts feature marking Sakaguchi’s first major screen role outside his home country.
Set on the streets of Jakarta, “Pendekar: Warrior” centers on a former silat master who leaves prison intent on putting violence behind him, only to find a crime syndicate has taken hold of his old neighborhood. Forced to fight again to protect those closest to him, the character becomes the vehicle through which the film aims to bring Indonesian Silat to a global audience. Both Uwais and Sakaguchi are in active physical preparation, working with the production’s action team to develop sequences that blend Silat’s speed with Sakaguchi’s close-quarters style.
Now, if you follow martial arts action cinema as heavily as I do, I do not have to emphasize the magnitude of watching Uwais’ beautiful and savage art of Indonesian Silat take on Sakaguchi’s CQB martial combat style of Zero Range Combat (ZRCS) thst employs his signature “wave motion” which he developed on his own. The action design is sizing up to be some of the most original, crowd pleasing and destructive to date and these two masters squaring off will definitely be the highlight of the year that the film comes out in.
Pendekar: Warrior is poised and ready to commence filming later this year so expect a release date in latter 2027 or early 2028.
Sakaguchi brings a massive cult following due to his insane action films such as Versus, Re:Born and Crazy Samurai Musashi which was an intense and unflinching experiment in crafting one of the longest one take action sequences ever put to film. The film featured a gigantic 77 minute one take martial arts sword battle with Sakaguchi taking one multiple attackerss which has never been duplicated since. Uwais is no stranger to defining action as well as he has been a star ever since The Raid changed how we saw martial arts action put to celluloid. Uwais and Sakaguchi both have contrasting fighting disciplines but they both feature graceful, lightning paced movement that leaves no room for error.
The movie sees Asia Media Alliance Group producing side by side with Indonesian producer Delon Tio of Nation Pictures. Erika North and Nick North of Yeti Entertainment are also producing with veteran action producer and casting maestro Mike Leeder who hails from the Hong Kong based Red Packet Media. Uwais and Ryan Santoso are also slated as executive producers per Uwais’ production banner Uwais Pictures. K-Movie Entertainment is also serving as co-producer while focusing on international sales agent.
“Bringing Iko Uwais and Tak Sakaguchi together is a landmark moment for Asian action cinema,” Tio stated in the article. “They are two extraordinary performers who have each built a global following through authenticity, discipline and fearless physical storytelling. ‘Pendekar: Warrior’ represents exactly the kind of bold, internationally focused Indonesian film we want to bring to audiences around the world.”
Mike Leeder added, “I’ve been a huge fan of Tak and his work since the early days, going right back to ‘Versus. I’ve always wanted the chance to work with him, and now we get to pit his close-quarters combat against Iko’s Silat in one hell of a movie.”
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