Universal Studios has signed a director to remake Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 Korean monster film The Host. Commercial film director Fredrik Bond will helm the project, based on a script by Smart People scribe Mark Poirier, and Gore Verbinski will produce.
Slashfilm reports, The Host follows a dysfunctional family who sets out to bring their little girl back home after a horrifying giant monster that emerges from the Han River to wreak havoc on Seoul. The Host was released on a record number of screens in South Korea and broke box-office records throughout its domestic run. By the end of its run, over 13 million people had bought tickets, making it the highest grossing South Korean film of all time. Joon-Jo talked to Sci-Fi about the idea of an American remake during the film’s original theatrical run. Here is what he said:
“Maybe three or four years down the line, if The Host [remake] comes out, and there’s a cool director who takes it on and makes it a real great film, then I’d be very happy,” Bong told SciFiWire in an interview, through a translator. “On the other hand, if it’s just crap, I think I’d be happy, too, because then people would be like, ‘Oh, yeah, Bong’s original was really good.’ So, for me, it’s a win-win situation. But Universal has a tradition of doing horror and creature films, so I anticipate that they will do a great film.”
I loved The Host, the move doesn’t take itself too seriously, so I look forward to see what Hollywood can do with the film.