Award-winning Train To Busan director Yeon Sang-Ho is far from finished with the apocalyptic zombieverse he initiated in 2016. Jean Noh’s Monday report at Screendaily is just the latest bit of confirmation we’re getting on the acclaimed Train To Busan helmer’s efforts toward a sequel, two years since garnering festival praise and box office approval in South Korea and through Asia.
That same year also saw updates of Gaumont’s own acquisition of the film for a possible English-language remake. Previous reports of sequel hopes have seen actor Gong Yoo weigh in from time to time, although news now indicates the film, tentatively titled Bando (a.k.a. Peninsula), will be just a continuation Train To Busan and set in the same universe with a new cast of characters. More to the point via Screendaily:
“It is an extension of Train To Busan, after the virus has spread throughout Korea, but the characters are not the same. It shares the same world view and is a zombie action film that deals with the aftermath on the peninsula of what happened in Train To Busan.”
Train To Busan screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 to roaring applause before its record-breaking blockbuster reception the following August, and ultimately paved a way for more projects in the market. The film was also something of a Hail Mary for Yeon who spoke to Variety pertaining to the taboos of zombie genre and its lacking commercial viability around seven years ago, now citing exposure of the genre to younger audiences as a means of eyeing success.
“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 says. “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.”
Yeon, who recently helmed Psychokinesis, is partnered with Next Entertainment World for the project with updates of casting and budget forthcoming.
“I’m still writing the script, but the scale is rather large since there will be action with something to it,” he said.
Read more at ScreenDaily.