“Train to Busan” director Yeon Sang-ho is to direct a Korean, live action series adaptation of hit Japanese manga “Parasyte: The Grey.” Netflix is the exclusive distributor worldwide.
The story is about unidentified parasitic life-forms that live off human hosts and strive to grow their power. As they start to disrupt society, a group of humans wage war against the rising evil.
Korean stars Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jung-hyun have been confirmed to head the cast. The series is being produced on behalf of Netflix by Climax Studio and Wow Point.
The series is adapted from a hit manga series created by Iwaaki Hitoshi about invasive life-forms that seize and control human bodies. Published by the Kodansha company in its Morning Open Zkan and its Monthly Afternoon magazine from 1988 to 1995, it sold over 25 million copies in over 20 territories and countries.
The story, which mixes up fantasy and philosophical themes, spawned an animated series and two live action films. Toho released the two films in 2014 and 2015, grossing $9.6 million and $12.8 million respectively.
Koo Kyo-hwan and Lee Jung-hyun have previously worked with Yeon Sang-ho in the film “Peninsula.” Koo Kyo-hwan plays Seol Kang-woo who tracks down parasites in order to find his missing sister. Lee Jung-hyun plays Choi Jun-kyung, the team leader of “Team Grey,” a task force battling parasites. Having lost her husband to these invasive life-forms, she devotes herself to their demise.
The Netflix adaptation will be co-scripted by Yeon and Ryu Yong-jae, the screenwriter of Netflix’s “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area.” Yeon’s credits include two zombie-themed hits “Train to Busan” and its sequel “Peninsula.”
