Oka Antara (The Raid 2) is officially on board for writer/director Ranjeet S. Marwa’s new indie survival action thriller, Exiled: The Chosen Ones. Production is currently underway as cameras have just wrapped its fifth day into what’s expected to be a month-long shoot in Birmingham, U.K..
Strict Covid-19 protocols are in place for the indie thriller which stars Sunny Pang (The Night Comes For Us, Kill-Fist) in the role of Hiro, a cold and calculating Yakuza hitman forced to compete for his life among a row of society’s worst criminals, in a deadly game devised by a corporate cabal overseeing a nefarious population control scheme, while the rich place their bets.
Serving as the gamemaster’s trump card, Antara will star in the role of Kruz, who I am told is a sniper assigned to eliminate disobedient players, as well as kill players to make the game interesting when the game gets boring, raising the stakes even higher for Pang’s character.
Antara shares a good deal of local film and television stardom in Indonesia with more than fifteen years in entertainment. He made headway in 2013 appearing in the “Safe Haven” segment of horror anthology, V/H/S 2, gained ground in Mo’ Brothers horror pic, Killers, and in Gareth Evans’ gangbuster crime sequel, The Raid 2, and recently in producer Mario Kassar’s Indonesian sci-fi thriller, Foxtrot Six.
Antara’s addition to the project has been a long-awaited one dating back to April when he circled Marwa’s initial production, Blood Rush, until the actor had to rescind the role due to scheduling, although the actor did provide key commentary for Marwa’s independent doc, Covid-19: The Impact On Asian Cinema. Blood Rush, which bolsters an otherwise ambitious cast with high expectations, is still slated to start sometime next year, with Antara’s availability still pending.
Casting was unveiled in full on Monday with Hannah Al-Rashid (The Night Comes For Us, Buffalo Boys) also top-lining the cast. Nick Blade Khan (The Asian Connection) is co-starring as well as directing the action.
Marwa is also producing through his Rocket Sky High label, alongside producer Djonny Chen of Silent D Pictures.