Almost four years have gone by since it was announced that CJ ENM, the production company behind Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, was teaming with Ari Aster’s Square Peg to produce an English language remake of the 2003 South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet. The original film was directed by Joon-hwan Jang, and at the time it was said that Jang would be at the helm of the new take on the concept as well. But now Variety reports that the project has a new director: Yorgos Lanthimos, whose film Poor Things is nominated for 11 Oscars and just won five BAFTAs. With Lanthimos signed on, the Save the Green Planet remake is now expected to head into production this summer, with filming locations in New York and the U.K.
Described as an eccentric black comedy, the original Save the Green Planet followed a disillusioned young man who captures and tortures a businessman whom he believes to be part of an alien invasion. A battle of wits ensues between the captor, his devoted girlfriend, the businessman and a private detective.
Here’s a longer synopsis: Joon-hwan Jang imagines the fate of the human race hinging on Byun-gu, a bitter, paranoid and eccentric beekeeper who, with the help of his tightrope walker girlfriend, Sooni, kidnaps a powerful and successful businessman, Man-sik. Byun-gu believes that Man-sik is an alien from the planet Andromeda, one of many hiding among us and plotting to destroy the Earth in a few days. Amphetamine-popping Byun-gu sees himself as the planet’s last hope, and sets about torturing Man-sik with relish, trying to convince him to contact the “Royal Prince” and call off Armageddon. A battle of wits and wills ensues, with Man-sik trying to convince his captors that he’s human and attempting to escape. Man-sik recognizes Byun-gu as a disgruntled former employee whose comatose mother suffers from a mysterious illness. It begins to seem that Byun-gu’s true motivation may be personal, but he’s still ruthlessly determined to get Man-sik to confess and cooperate, even if he has to risk killing him. Meanwhile, a dishevelled detective, Chu, and his young acolyte, Inspector Kim, discover that the person who kidnapped Man-sik may have struck several times before, always with deadly results.
When the Save the Green Planet remake was first announced, it was said that the screenplay was being written by Will Tracy, a writer on HBO’s Succession and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Since that announcement, Tracy has also co-written the genre film The Menu.
Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe at Element Pictures are producing the new film alongside CJ ENM and Square Peg.
Are you interested in the Save the Green Planet remake? Have you seen the original film, and what do you think of Yorgos Lanthimos directing the new one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.