Production is now underway on Rise of the Footsoldier: The Beginning, a prequel to the cult crime thriller Rise of the Footsoldier and the third instalment of the hit franchise.
Directed by Zackary Alder (The Rise of the Krays, The Fall of the Krays), the film will see the return of cast members Craig Fairbrass, Terry Stones, Roland Manookian, Ian Virgo and Billy Murray, while new additions include Larry Lamb (Buster), Jamie Foreman (Layer Cake) and Laura McMonagle (Tonight You’re Mine), along with Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Union J’s JJ Hamblett.
“I am a huge fan of the original Rise of the Footsolider movie and am very excited to be a part of the franchise,” said director Alder. “This instalment will not disappoint fans of the first film. We will be following the incredibly volatile character of Pat Tate played by the great Craig Fairbrass. I am thrilled to be partnering again with Carnaby films who are passionately reinventing the wheel for the British gangster film genre. Rise Of The Foot Solider:The Beginning will be a violently frenetic film, a bloody raw voyage through Essex gangland with Craig Fairbrass as the insane and relentless Pat Tate. The film is set to be a visceral spectacle of hyper violent criminal culture with the wild rollercoaster ride of brutality that is Rise Of The Footsolider.”
Set in 1988, the story opens in Marbella with burgeoning Essex gangster Pat Tate trying to smuggle a batch of ecstasy tablets into the UK and infiltrate Southend nightclubs. Double crossed by his suppliers, Tate’s fortune soon takes a turn for the worse and, following a series of violent encounters, he is hunted down by police and imprisoned. Behind bars, he makes a new alliance and together they mastermind a plot to take control of the Essex drugs war and become the most feared gangsters of the underworld. With a bitter vendetta to settle, Tate’s relentless lifestyle of drug use and violence is further fuelled by business partner, Tony Tucker, who steers him on the road to his grizzly end.
Originally published October 25, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
