Lionsgate Television announced on Wednesday that the studio is set to produce an English-language television adaptation of Park-chan Wook’s 2003 thriller Oldboy. The movie, one of the most mesmerizing, memorable dark action movies of the 2000s, started a new wave of Korean action cinema when it was first released. It’s since spawned endless copycats and homages — particularly its grim, bloody single-take hammer-in-a-hallway fight sequence, which filmmakers still frequently cite as an inspiration for their own battle scenes in constricted spaces. A 4K restoration was released in American theaters in 2023, and came in second at the box office in its first week, beaten only by Barbie. Spike Lee remade the movie as an English-language thriller in 2013, but it’s never been adapted for television before.
New trailer for A24 spy comedy from Oldboy director features more of Robert Downey Jr.'s eccentric villain characters
28.03.2024 - 20:29 / gamesradar.com / Robert Downey-Junior / Lauren Milici
A new trailer for The Sympathizer has been released – and we're so ready.
Created by Oldboy director Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, the miniseries marks the first adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's best-selling and Pulitzer-prize winning novel of the same name. Hoa Xuande plays the Captain, a North Vietnam spy who takes up residency in the South Vietnam army. Towards the end of the Vietnam war, he flees to the US – but continues to spy on South Vietnam and report on the Viet Cong. Though, as we've seen from both trailers, it looks like the Captain's spy espionage life is more trouble than it's worth.
"Welcome to the world of spycraft," one of Robert Downey Jr.'s many antagonist characters tells the Captain in the new trailer. Another Downey character calls the Captain his protege, telling him they're off to the next harbor on their CIA voyage: America. RDJ plays several antagonists throughout the series, though the character names have not been released.
The cast includes Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Duy Nguyen, Vy LE, Alan Trong, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Marine Delterme, Scott Ly, Kayli Tran, VyVy Nguyen, and Sandra Oh – who looks to be playing the Captain's love interest.
Chan-wook directs the first three episodes, Sugar's Fernando Meirelles directs the fourth episode, and Marc Munden (The Secret Garden) helms the last three.
The Sympathizer, produced by A24 in conjunction with HBO, is set to hit Max on April 14, 2024. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2024 and beyond.
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