Netflix partners with ‘Train to Busan’ director on new series

Global entertainment giant Netflix is teaming up with star film director Yeon Sang-ho for the serial adaptation of the webtoon “Hellbound” (working title).

Netflix on Thursday announced that the upcoming series, based on an eponymous South Korean webcomic, will be helmed by Yeon, who directed the megahit zombie flick “Train to Busan” in 2016 and its sequel “Peninsula,” due out this summer.

The webcomic, which currently runs on portal site Naver, is the result of collaboration between Yeon and popular illustrator Choi Gyu-seok. Choi’s previous work “Songgot: The Piercer” was adapted into a JTBC TV drama in 2015.

“Hellbound” is a fantasy thriller that takes place in a society where supernatural beings similar to grim reapers appear out of nowhere to deliver a final judgment on people, sending them to hell or heaven according to their deeds. Religious groups hail the creatures, believing they are doing the will of a divine being, and a series of unexpected events unfolds amid the social chaos.

According to Netflix, Yeon and Choi will write the script together. Yeon also wrote the screenplay for the tvN fantasy-thriller series “The Cursed,” which aired earlier this year.

The filming and release dates for “Hellbound” have not yet been confirmed.





By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)