New killers expand ‘Kill Boksoon’ universe in thriller ‘Mantis’
Actors Yim Si-wan, right, and Park Gyu-young in a scene from the Netflix movie “Mantis” / Courtesy of Netflix
Upcoming Netflix movie "Mantis" expands the universe of the 2023 action thriller "Kill Boksoon," this time focusing on a new generation of contract killers.
"It's a spin-off of 'Kill Boksoon,' a story about Mantis, who was mentioned about twice in 'Kill Boksoon' as being on vacation. Because of Gil Bok-soon (Jeon Do-yeon), M.K. ENT (a killer organization) is in chaos," director Lee Tae-sung said during a press conference at a theater in Seoul Thursday.
"If Gil Bok-soon and Cha Min-kyu (Sul Kyung-gu) were the top figures of their generation, this film describes stories of younger generation killers."
"Mantis" is an action movie that depicts the showdown for the top position in the contract killing industry among Han-ul (Yim Si-wan), an A-list killer also called Mantis, who returns after a vacation; his trainee contemporary and rival Jae-yi (Park Gyu-young); and retired killer Dok-go (Jo Woo-jin).
Lee explained that he co-wrote the script with director Byun Sung-hyun, who directed the previous film, and wanted to tell a story about what happens after the killer organization M.K. ENT collapses because of Gil Bok-soon.
"Director Byun Sung-hyun and I had never worked on a screenplay together, so we were cautious. We took plenty of time to understand each other's thoughts and wanted to see what young, recognized professional killers would do when the successful company they were working for disappeared," he said.
Actors Park Gyu-young, front row right, and Jo Woo-jin in a scene from the Netflix movie “Mantis” / Courtesy of Netflix
Yim described his character as someone who fights with sickles.
"Han-ul fights with sickles in both hands. I believe he was named Mantis because of that visual appearance," he said.
"Since I had no experience using dual sickles as a weapon, I spent a lot of time at action school getting used to handling the weapons."
Park and Jo said they also focused on action practice to showcase unique fight sequences, using a long sword and tonfa (a traditional melee weapon used in martial arts), respectively.
"Jae-yi's weapon is the long sword. The action directors designed the movements to use long, sweeping lines. The long sword is heavier than it looks and the tip tends to shake, so I practiced a lot at action school," Park said.
Jo described his character as someone who can freely use any weapon, not just the tonfa.
"Dok-go handles tonfa. He is a master, a legend and a mentor, so I figured he could weaponize any tool near him," Jo said. "I thought it would be interesting to see action sequences with a weapon that looks like it could appear in a video game."
“Mantis” will be released on the streaming platform on Friday.