Award winning director Bong Joon Ho is moving on to a new realms of film post-Parasite.
Even though he was already a critically-acclaimed director before his victory at the 2020 Academy Awards, his successful awards-season run with Parasite moved Bong Joon Ho to the mainstream consciousness. Thus, his next movie is now of great interest, from film geeks to the casual movie fan. So it was a revelation when Korean production house, 4th Creative Party, announced last May 13 that Bong Joon Ho will be directing his first animated film. The movie may still be in the early stages of production, but here’s what we know about it so far.
New Realm
Bong Joon Ho is famous for his meticulous directing, social critique, and blending of genres in his films. This new move towards animation is not a big surprise, but it certainly elicited excitement. The full CGI Korean animation has apparently been in the works since 2018, and it will be about a conflict that arises between deep sea creatures and human beings.
Another notable thing to look forward to in this under water action-thriller is that 4th Creative Party will produce it. This production house from Seoul has worked on video effects for films such as Bong Joon Ho’s The Host, Snowpiercer and Okja, as well as Park Chan-wook’s Old Boy, Stoker and The Handmaiden.
Familiar Theme
Even if Bong Joon Ho is entering new territory with his exploration of animation, we can expect the film to be socially-relevant, as all of his projects tend to be.
Social division is a theme that runs through much of Bong’s work. His 2006 film, The Host, which also featured a creature of nightmare character, is about a poor but loving family running a food stall. The mutant fish-monster was accidentally created by pollution from the US military in Seoul’s Han River and caused havoc in the city, affecting the central family.
Another social commentary from Bong Joon Ho that also features odd creatures is Okja. It is about a down-to-earth country girl who battles a dystopian corporation to save her strangely adorable giant mutant pig friend.
Of course there is also Snowpiercer, where Chris Evan’s character stages a class revolt onboard a train containing the entire post-apocalyptic population of the world—a horizontal counterpart to Parasite’s vertical class stratification.
More To Come
Aside from his animated film in the works, Bong Joon Ho is also teaming with Adam McKay and HBO for a television series adaptation of Parasite. McKay confirmed that HBO’s version is “chugging full speed ahead.”
Although, Bong Joon Ho will not be directing the series. McKay said in an interview, “We’ve just staffed up with an incredible writers’ room. I basically outlined the series with director Bong during the quarantine, with him overseeing.”
HBO’s Parasite will not be a remake of Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winnng masterpiece, but an original series. Mckay explained further that the series inhabits the same universe as the feature, but is al altogether original story. Aside from the Parasite series, Bong Joon Ho is also working on two more films: an English-language drama based on a true story and a Korean horror-action film.
We can’t wait to see all of these upcoming projects finally come to life. Bong Joon Ho is an inspiration to many creatives. In his Academy Awards acceptance speech he shares that “The most personal is the most creative.” While he was quoting fellow iconic director Martin Scorsese, Bong Joon Ho was able to explain this to a new audience. His films may always contain an certain odd element, but the backbone of the stories are always very personal, and thus, hit close to home for many of his fans. Through him and his works, one doesn’t have to look that far to tell a compelling story, because it’s always within reach.
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