The Raid and Expend4bles star Iko Uwais who, somehow, remains the most underrated icon in the action movie game, has debuted the first trailer for his directorial debut. Uwais will both helm and star in the martial arts action war movie, Timur, which drops the action hero at the center of a true story about an international hostage situation.
Alongside the first trailer, which you can check out below, Timur has also now been given a release date. And it seems that Christmas has come early for action fans, with the action outing now set to be released in theaters on December 18, 2025.
Uwais will both direct and star in Timur, which marks the Indonesian actor and silat master’s filmmaking debut, as well as being the first offering from his newly formed Uwais Pictures. Based on the real-life international hostage crisis that took place in Mapenduma in 1996 and the subsequent rescue operation that followed, Timur will star several action stars alongside Uwais, including Andri Mashadi (The Shadow Strays), Yusuf Mahardika (Borderless Fog), Yasamin Jasem (Temurun) and Prabowo Subianto, who himself was involved in the real-life Operation Mapenduma rescue.
‘Timur’ Trailer Teases a Martial Arts Action War Movie for the Ages
Best-known for modern action thriller masterpieces The Raid and The Raid 2, as well as The Night Comes for Us, Snake Eyes, and Headshot, Iko Uwais has now embarked on his own quest for cinematic greatness after leaving Hollywood behind and founding his own production company, Uwais Pictures. The aim of the studio is to “replicate the success of modestly budgeted, local-language hits such as The Raid, The Raid: Redemption, and The Night Comes for Us,” while striving to incorporate “fight choreography, action design, and stunt performance from the inception of its projects.”
Clearly, based on this first footage from Timur, Uwais has done just that. The trailer not only teases the intensely dangerous situation that this small group of soldiers finds themselves in behind enemy lines, it also teases the swift fists of fury that has made Uwais such a genre icon. You can check out the synopsis for Timur below…
Timur is an action drama film by Uwais Pictures and directed by Iko Uwais. The story is inspired by Operation Mapenduma in 1996, when Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) special forces conducted a mission to free hostages from the Lorentz 95 Expedition who were held hostage in Papua.
The film doesn’t deal with literal politics, but rather highlights heroism, patriotism, and the value of sacrifice. With a strong historical setting and Uwais Team-inspired action choreography, Timur is a work that brings audiences closer to history through the power of cinema.
Timur is just the first offering from Uwais Pictures, with the studio also now working on Ikatan Darah, which will follow “a former martial arts athlete” who “must face a network of loan sharks to save her younger brother, who is trapped in online gambling debt and risking their family’s safety.”
Uwais will also reunite with Skyline: Warpath director Liam O’Donnell for what sounds like the perfect no-nonsense throwback action thriller. The Raid star recently joined MRI, which finds the actor and martial artist taking the lead as “a broken-down hitman (Uwais) with a shattered family and a busted knee, who undergoes a routine MRI when the entire hospital is taken over by ruthless gangsters,” per the official synopsis. “Now, he’s the only man who can rescue their target, the daughter of a powerful crime boss, and somehow save the day, one agonizing step at a time.”