Oldboy is set for another English-language remake, this time with the involvement of director Park Chan-wook, who’s teaming with Lionsgate to bring his seminal 2003 revenge thriller to the small screen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Park Chan-wook is developing a limited series English-language adaptation of Oldboy for Lionsgate Television. Loosely based on a popular manga series, the 2003 film stars Choi Min-sik as a businessman who is kidnapped and held hostage by persons unknown. For 15 years, Dae-su lives in total isolation in a room with only a television to keep him company and no idea who has detained him—or why. When he’s abruptly set free, Dae-su is given five days to uncover the mystery behind his own kidnapping.
“Lionsgate Television shares my creative vision for bringing Oldboy into the world of television,” said Park in a statement obtained by THR. “I look forward to working with a studio whose brand stands for bold, original and risk-taking storytelling.” Lionsgate Television’s recent credits include HBO’s Love & Death, John Wick spinoff The Continental for Peacock, and the Ewan McGregor drama A Gentleman in Moscow.
Director Park has made a surprising pivot to television in recent years, having directed a limited series adaptation of John le Carré’s The Little Drummer Girl starring Florence Pugh and Alexander Skarsgard, and more recently directing episodes of HBO’s The Sympathizer. Director Park co-created and serves as co-showrunner on the series, which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Spike Lee previously directed an English-language adaptation of Oldboy starring Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen. Released in 2013, the mostly forgotten remake bombed at the box office and received largely negative reviews. When the producers recut the film, Lee opted to change his credit, making Oldboy the first of his films not presented as “A Spike Lee Joint.”
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