SF-Thriller Set for Hollywood Remake 

The high concept sci-fi thriller Spiritwalker has scored 107 international sales deals ahead of its domestic bow later this month. Furthermore, the twisty Yoon Kyesang vehicle has also been courting remake interest from Hollywood.

Yoon stars in the film as a man who wakes up with no memory of who he is and begins to switch bodies every 12 hours while he tries to retrieve his memories and figure out what happened to him. 

The film is sold to all major markets in Asia, as well as key markets in North America and Europe, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain.

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, head of Di Bonaventura Pictures, the company behind Constantine and the Transformers franchise, acquired the rights for a US remake. Di Bonaventura has had a history of dealing with Korean film figures, having also produced Kim Jeewoon’s Hollywood debut The Last Stand, and the RED and G.I. Joe film series, both of which feature Korean star Lee Byunghun. The producer’s company was one of several vying for the chance to remake the property.

Spiritwaker is the second film by director Yoon Jaekeun, who scored a hit in 2011 with the organ transplant thriller-drama Heartbeat with Park Haeil and Kim Yunjin. The film had its world premiere at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia last year and went on to receive the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema at the New York Asian Film Festival this summer. 

Yoon’s film was then selected as the closing film of the London East Asian Film Festival. The film will open in Korea on November 24.