 |
| A scene from "Train to Busan" / Courtesy of NEW |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Yeon Sang-ho's zombie thriller, "Train to Busan," which attracted more than 10 million moviegoers at local theaters, will be remade into a Hollywood film, according to foreign news reports.
Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto, known for Netflix's action thriller "The Night Comes for Us" (2018), is currently in talks with the U.S. production company New Line to helm the film, Deadline reported.
Atomic Monster's James Wan and Michael Clear and Gaumont's Nicolas Atlan and Terry Kalagian will produce alongside Coin Operated's Gary Dauberman, who is adapting the screenplay. Judson Scott, Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee and Johanna Byer are executive producing, it added. The cast and production schedule have not been revealed yet.
The apocalyptic horror film, which premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, is set inside a train headed to the southern city of Busan. A strange virus spreads from one person who boards the train from Seoul to other passengers inside the train and turns them into zombies. The main characters struggle to remain alive in the train and reach Busan, which is supposedly claimed to be safe from the virus.
Meanwhile, "Peninsula," a sequel that takes place four years after "Train to Busan," was released last year. It generated 3.81 million ticket sales in Korea.
Fans were not too pleased to hear the news about the remake. "Train to Busan is based on very Korean things like culture, history and class that are specific to Korea. Remaking it in the U.S. will strip it of the things that made it special. Just watch the original," one tweeted. "We don't need a remake of 'Train to Busan'! Leave it alone," another tweeted.
Director Tjahjanto responded to concerns, saying "Nothing is ever gonna top 'Train to Busan,' a beloved horror in which I bawled my eyes out. Having said that James, Gary & I made an absolute oath: Don't disrespect & disappoint the fans."
