Yeon Sang-ho Says No 'Train To Busan 2'; Director Suggests Cartoon 'Every Moment Of Your Life' Screen Adaptation
Michelle Guanzon"Train to Busan" has earned international praises and gained popularity for its drama and thrilling zombies, bringing a call for a sequel. However, it looks like it won't be coming true as the movie director, Yeon Sang-ho, confirmed he has no plans for "Train to Busan 2."
When "Train to Busan" smashed box office record in South Korea, the local film industry was surprised for the zombie-themed movie's success. The Next Entertainment World (NEW) movie has been seen by 11.56 million Koreans within two months of release, making it the biggest hit of the year on Korea alone.
"The film's social message, its brilliant visual treat, and quick pace that are perfect for a summer blockbuster, as well as its fun and originality in fine balance, have all together contributed to its success," stated by June Park, director of NEW's film business. "It is the first Korean blockbuster that tells a zombie story with such a great amusement."
The Korean zombie blockbuster is considered as the highest grossing Asian film in Hong Kong and the highest grossing South Korean film in Malaysia ever. The movie has made $8.88 million in Hong Kong, $9.56 million in Taiwan, $3.84 million in Singapore, and $5 million in Malaysia.
"We believe 'Train to Busan' could easily appeal to the foreign audience, due to its nature as an amusement movie," Park said. "Anyone can enjoy 'Train to Busan' without having to understand the story's context from a Korean-specific perspective."
"The younger generation has been exposed to diverse types of contents through the internet. These include foreign zombie films such as 'World War Z' and 'The Walking Dead' [TV] series," Yeon said.
"Also, there have been [many] web cartoons featuring zombies. I think the young people have been familiarized with the concept of zombies and innovative genre movies through those experiences," the director added.
However, despite the record-breaking success of the South Korean zombie apocalypse horror film, Yeon Sang-ho confirmed that he has no plans to make "Train to Busan 2."
"Because I've been asked so much about the sequel, I sometimes ask myself whether I should do it, or what kind of approach I should take, if I do,"Yeon said. " 'Train' was, however, not developed as a series to begin with, and I have no plan for its sequel for now."
Instead, he suggested that the Top Korean web cartoonist Kang Full's zombie story, "Every Moment of Your Life," could be a great screen adaptation to succeed his zombie-themed film.
"I hear that investors have been pitched many zombie-tinged scripts since the success of 'Train,'" he said.
"But I hope to see some new types of zombie movies, rather than another 'Train'-esque action blockbuster. For example, 'World War Z' and 'Warm Bodies' are both zombie movies, but they're totally different in terms of tone and manner," he added.
To recall, actor Gong Yoo expressed his interest earlier for "Train to Busan 2," suggesting that the sequel will talk about his character in a zombie perspective. However, director Yeon Sang-ho expressed that the actor's character had died after jumping off the train implicating there will be no sequel.
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