Tak Sakaguchi joins Iko Uwais in Pendekar: Warrior
Japanese cult action star Tak Sakaguchi joins Iko Uwais in Pendekar: Warrior as the Raid star’s on-screen nemesis, marking Sakaguchi’s first major role outside Japan. Principal photography on the Jakarta-set martial-arts feature is slated for the fourth quarter of 2026, pairing two action icons from rival traditions.
Variety reports the casting as an exclusive, confirming that the Versus and Re:Born favorite will face Uwais for the first time on screen. For martial-arts fans tracking the next big face-off, this is a major booking—and a signal that Indonesian silat cinema is aiming wider. Follow more casting and release alerts on our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.
Key Takeaways
- Tak Sakaguchi will play Iko Uwais’s nemesis in Pendekar: Warrior.
- The booking is Sakaguchi’s first major screen role outside Japan.
- Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- Director John Radel ACS plans to blend silat speed with Sakaguchi’s close-quarters style.
- Uwais and Ryan Santoso are attached as executive producers through Uwais Pictures.
Why does Tak Sakaguchi joining Iko matter?
According to Variety, the pairing brings together two performers from rival martial-arts traditions who have not previously shared a screen. Sakaguchi is known for an unrelenting physical approach, including a 77-minute single-take fight against some 400 opponents in Crazy Samurai Musashi.
Uwais is internationally recognized for The Raid, The Raid 2, Headshot, The Night Comes for Us, Mile 22, and Expend4bles. Director John Radel ACS said the stars share a rare quality: when they fight on screen, every movement feels purposeful and consequential. He called their eventual collision visceral, emotional, and unlike anything audiences have seen from either of them before.
What is Pendekar: Warrior about?
Set on the streets of Jakarta, Pendekar: Warrior centers on a former silat master who leaves prison intent on putting violence behind him. A crime syndicate has taken hold of his old neighborhood, forcing him to fight again to protect those closest to him. The film aims to bring Indonesian silat to a global audience through that character’s journey.
Both Uwais and Sakaguchi are in active physical preparation with the production’s action team. They are developing sequences that blend silat’s speed with Sakaguchi’s close-quarters combat style. Radel said the clash must feel like two unstoppable forces meeting—and like a moment action fans have waited years to witness.
Who is behind the martial-arts feature?
The film is produced by Asia Media Alliance Group alongside Indonesian producer Delon Tio of Nation Pictures, Erika North and Nick North of Yeti Entertainment, and veteran action producer Mike Leeder of Hong Kong-based Red Packet Media. K-Movie Entertainment is serving as co-producer and international sales agent.
Tio called bringing Uwais and Sakaguchi together a landmark moment for Asian action cinema. Leeder, a fan of Sakaguchi since Versus, said the movie will pit Sakaguchi’s close-quarters combat against Uwais’s silat. Uwais is represented by Brett Norensberg at Gersh and Vault Entertainment.