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Song Kang-ho, star of Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” will headline a series adaptation of hit film “Inside Men.”

The project was revealed on Thursday by producer Hive Media Corp. which said that the show is in the early stages of pre-production. Cameras are expected to roll in 2025.

No broadcaster or streamer has yet been attached.

The 2015 film was a political thriller that was adapted from an incomplete webtoon, penned by Yoon Tae-ho called “The Insiders” and which was published 2010-2012 in the Hankyoreh newspaper.

The webtoon featured a political bruiser, played by Lee Byung-hun in the film, who seeks revenge after being ruined by politicians and the media. Directed and written by Woo Min-ho, the film added other elements including a prosecutor (portrayed by Cho Sueng-woo), a presidential candidate Portrayed by Lee Gyeong-young) and a newspaper editor (portrayed by Baek Yoon-sik). 

The series, which will be directed by Mo Wan-il (“The World of the Married” and recent Netflix film “The Frog”), will extrapolate further and expand on other elements from the film. Song is expected to play the newspaper editor. No other cast has been disclosed. 

Hive Media Corp has been described by the Korean Film Council as “Korea’s top production company.” Last year, it delivered “12.12: The Day,” a fictionalized depiction of the 1979 military coup that went on to become the highest grossing film of the year in Korea. An earlier riff on a closely related political drama theme was “The Man Standing Next,” which examined events building up to the assassination of President Park Chung-hee, earlier in 1979.

“Inside Men” was produced by Kim Won-kuk, who has been an investor in Woo’s earlier film “Man of Vendetta.” Its surprise hit status – 7 million admissions for the original version and a further 2 million for a director’s cut – allowed Kim and partners to form Hive Media Corp in 2016.

The company has this year released low budget hit “Handsome Guys” and is imminently releasing Hur Jin-ho’s “A Normal Family,” an acclaimed pressure cooker drama that is a remake of Herman Koch’s “The Dinner” and which premiered in Toronto last year. This week in Toronto, it premiered big-budget action thriller “Harbin,” which will release commercially in Korea shortly before Christmas. It is also directed by Woo.

Song has been a major star since his early career roles in “Joint Security Area” and “Memories of Murder.” Other credits include “Sympathy for Mr Vengeance,” “The Host,” “Snowpiercer,” “A Taxi Driver” and “Broker,” for which he won the best actor award in Cannes in 2022. He has done relatively little television, but recently won the best actor award at the Seoul Drama Awars for his role in Disney+ series “Uncle Samsik.” In December last year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences held a retrospective in his honor. 

Written by Patrick Frater

Link: https://variety.com/2024/global/asia/song-kang-ho-inside-men-series-1236141933/