Who will be the cast of ‘Parasite’ TV series?

The world is watching closely what will be the next step for Bong Joon-ho, the director of “Parasite,” which won four Oscars at the 92nd Academy Awards. The South Korean director will stay in the United States for another week for interviews and his personal schedules before returning to South Korea where he will have a press conference at the Westin Chosun Seoul at 11 a.m. on Feb. 19 with the cast of “Parasite,” including Song Kang-ho, and Barunson E&A CEO Gwak Shin-ae, the producer of “Parasite.”

Meanwhile, the TV adaptation of the South Korean movie has been confirmed. The TV series will be aired on HBO whose famous TV series include “Game of Thrones,” “The Newsroom” and “Chernobyl.” Director Bong will be teaming up with Adam McKay who directed “The Big Short” and “Vice.” Anticipation for the TV series had been building up even before the Oscars as its details were to be released after the the Academy Awards.

“When I was writing the script I had so many more ideas I couldn't convey into the two-hour running time of the film,” said Bong in an interview. “I would love to explore these stories in a five- or six-hour running time.” He compared it to Ingmar Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander,” which took home four awards including Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Oscars and has both a TV version and a cinema cut. Bong mentioned what was untold in the film such as stories behind the bruises on the housekeeper Mun-gwang’s face or the secret relationship between Yeon-kyo and Min-hyuk.

A heated debate is going on the cast of the TV series among “Parasite” fans. “There has been chatter that Mark Ruffalo is being considered for a role even though any casting buzz is very premature,” said Hollywood online news media Deadline. On social media, many are voicing concerns over “whitewashing.” Some argue Asian actors and actresses should play the roles while others say that there should be more diversity if the TV drama is set in the United States.


Seo-Hyun Lee baltika7@donga.com