Even if you had no interest in the Oscars, you’ll be fully aware that Parasite swept the board. The relatively unknown comedy-thriller won four Oscars at Sunday night’s award ceremony and has since been catapulted into the limelight, sparking a worldwide interest in Korean cinema.
It therefore comes as no surprise to hear a TV adaptation with HBO is in the works. Produced by Succession’s Adam McKay, the series aims to delve deeper into the class wars explored in the film. “There were so many stories that I thought of that could happen in between the sequences you see in the film, and some background stories for each character,” the film’s director Bong Joon-Ho told the Hollywood Reporter. “I really wanted to explore those ideas freely with a five- or six-hour film.”
The Oscar-nominated actor Mark Gruffalo has been tipped to join the cast. Responding to the rumours in a TMZ interview, he said: “I’d be honored to be able to play something.”
Parasite was the first non-English film to win Best Picture at the Oscars. The satirical thriller centres around class warfare between a poor family, The Kims, who con their way into becoming servants for a wealthy family, the Parks. However, as things quickly become complicated, their deception threatens to spiral out of control.
“It has taken time for it to get recognition within award bodies in the US, and even a festival like Cannes – it took a long time before they finally awarded a Korean film with the Palm d’Or” revealed Bong Joon-Ho. “It felt like it was only a matter of time before they would take notice, with Burning coming so close last year, and The Handmaiden winning a Bafta in 2018.”
Unfortunately a release date is yet to be confirmed with the series in the early stages of production, but stay tuned for further updates.
With Parasite being one of the most commended films of last year, we have high hopes for the TV adaptation.
