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Parasite TV show will be “great” says Bong Joon-ho

"It will be a black comedy"

The Parasite HBO TV series is still coming together, and Bong Joon-ho, who directed the movie, says it’s going well. The South-Korean filmmaker commented on the project during a panel at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Speaking at a Bong Joon-ho masterclass, he spoke highly of how the televisual spin-off is shaping up. “[The television series] will be something of great genius, I hope,” he said, as reported by IndieWire. “I worked with Adam McKay and he’s figuring out the scenario. We’re going to do it in the United States.”

That sound you can hear are all the alarm bells from hearing that a South-Korean movie, particular one that’s horror movie-adjacent like Parasite, is being remade, sequelised or anything else for US-centric audiences. Feat not, though, because Joon-ho is serving as producer, and he believes there’s a universality to the themes that makes going international interesting. “The subject continues to have resonance in France and elsewhere. Many of [us] would like to be rich,” he explained, “but I think in all of us there is a fear of becoming poor. I’m involved in the HBO adaptation. It will be a black comedy. I’m working in close cooperation with screenwriter McKay. This time I’m giving my input as a producer.”

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Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2020, Parasite was a bit of a global phenomenon. Based around a family who con their way into working for another, much wealthier family’s upper-class home, it explores ideas of classism, wealth distribution, and social media.

Joon-ho goes on to say he was surprised by the way Parasite resonated, but it hasn’t altered him much. “Its success was far beyond my expectations. Though I made it in exactly the same way as normal,” he said. “And I remain unchanged by it. I mean, look at me, I’m exactly the same.”

We’ll keep you informed on more about the Parasite show when we can. In the meantime, why not cross a few more of the best movies of all time off your list?