Timo Tjahjanto is climbing aboard New Line's remake of the South Korean blockbuster Train to Busan. I'm particularly excited about this news because Tjahjanto is the director behind two of my favorite martial arts action films, Headshot, and The Night Comes for Us. If anyone can match the intensity and raw emotion of the original film, it's him.
The original film, directed by Sang-Ho Yeon, is a zombie apocalypse thriller that since premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 has become a cult classic among horror aficionados. In the film, a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, and passengers on a train traveling from Seoul to Busan struggle to survive. For my money, Train to Busan is one of the more engaging zombie films of the past few decades and remains one of the best films of the genre to this day. If you happen to check it out, and like what you see, maybe check out the sequel, Peninsula, released in 2020.
Lined up to produce the remake is Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear, and Gaumont’s Nicolas Atlan and Terry Kalagian, with Coin Operated’s Gary Dauberman adapting the screenplay. Additionally, Judson Scott, Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee, and Johanna Byer are executive producing.
I'll say it again, this is majorly cool news. Tjahjanto has certainly had an outstanding career while presenting films like V/H/S/2, Killers, and Portals, but Train to Busan could place him in the spotlight like never before. He's got a keen eye for action and definitely knows how to tug on heartstrings. I'm jazzed to see what comes from this arrangement, and how he remakes a film as beloved by horror fans as Train to Busan.