The shock and horror of the film Parasite took the world by storm with its slow violence approach and undeniably raw cinematography. Now, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has released a few more details about an upcoming spin-off series to his box office hit movie. The Parasite series was announced last year as a potential project for HBO, with Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman) working as a writer.
Joon-ho released a few more details about the project during the French Cannes film festival. The film Parasite, Joon-ho explained, deals directly with a juxtaposition between wealthy and poor families, an issue that exists everywhere. He explains that he hopes the television series will "be something of great genius." The Oscar-winning director also says that the Parasite series will be filmed in the United States, in order to work with McKay.
Although Joon-ho states he is not set to direct the Parasite series, he will still be involved as a producer and will give input on McKay's screenplay. The series is aimed at being a black comedy dealing directly with the issues of rich vs. poor, like the Parasite film. Joon-ho also confirmed that he is working on two new films, one of which he has already finished writing. One of the scripts is in Korean for a film based in Seoul. That film will combine "unique elements of horror and action." Nothing else was said for the English script. Joon-ho is known for his unique horror-based films that always have an incredible shock value.
His 2013 film titled Snowpiercer, starring Chris Evans, set him on the international stage and gained him more attention in the United States. Snowpiercer was also adapted as a TV show in 2020, continuing the horrific dystopia of the film. Afterward, Parasite became the first non-English film to win an Oscar for Best Picture and took the world by storm, becoming one of the most successful and acclaimed films to come out of 2019. Undoubtedly, Joon-Ho's role as producer for the TV series will allow the Parasite world to thrive and become even more universal in context.
With the TV series based in the United States, the show might include more American actors and could possibly be in English, but no more details are confirmed at this time. McKay has a large background in SNL-like comedy films, and how that will translate to the dark, eclectic style of Joon-ho will be interesting to see.
McKay's upcoming film Don't Look Up, which stars Jennifer Lawrence, is based on dark humor. As a result, this might prepare him to add an excellent addition to the Parasite filmography.
Parasite is available to stream on Hulu.
Source: IndieWire