The past year has shown an almost daunting change of the tide for filmmaker Ranjeet S. Marwa, thanks in large part to the pandemic last year and its drastic affects the world around. Plans to direct Blood Rush as his inaugural ball for action movie audiences took a strong pivot to instead releasing a mini-doc on the pandemic’s affect on Asian cinema productions, as well as the development of multiple other film projects in order to ante up his profile some.
One project that’s been simmering since last Fall is Exiled: The Chosen Ones, shot conveniently in a contained and Covid-safe environment to avoid scruitiny over safety concerns on the Birmingham, U.K. set. The sweetener here, of course, alludes to the casting of Sunny Pang and Hannah Al-Rashid, two of Southeast Asia’s foremost talents hailing from shared credits such as Mike Wiluan’s Buffalo Boys, and Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes For Us, the latter which ultimately became both a film favorite for Marwa since its 2018 release, and a signature preamble in building a coalition with the prolific Indonesian horror director.
Their friendship has undoubtedly proven ample in their burgeoning partnership going forward with Tjahjanto quoted favorably in the brand new trailer for Exiled: The Chosen Ones, following a teaser release last year. A release date is still pending though an update on this end shouldn’t be too far off, though all I can tell you is that this trailer delivers a solid, reverent tone in boosting Marwa’s profile for action fans keen on his current slate.
After a man-made virus failed to reduce the world’s overpopulated areas, global leaders would start a new program that would legitimize a new venture in a game show. The game would be broadcast live, where random contestants would be exiled into a concrete jungle, forced to kill each other for their freedom. Viewers would place their bets on who had a chance at survival. Be that as it may…no one survives the game.
Notably that slate includes but isn’t limited to projects such as Blood Rush, Wolves, Traced and Blind Rage, the latter which could bring Singapore’s own Pang back to the U.K. as soon as this summer.
For now, we have Exiled: The Chosen Ones, in a trailer packed with enough drama and the gory stuff to cleanse the palate. Plus, you can expect to hear more from Marwa in an upcoming video interview with The Movie Dojo’s own Phat Samurai Guy on YouTube, so you’ll wanna hit the subscribe button and get plugged in when it goes live on January 26.
DISCLAIMER: I’m also quoted in the trailer along with several others, which I think is pretty gnarly. Expect a review in the months ahead!