Bong Joon-Ho’s (Snowpiercer) upcoming monster movie found its distributor and production house in streaming giant Netflix and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. The film centers on a friendship between a korean girl and a monster.
Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw), Paul Dano (Love and Mercy), Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange), Kelly Macdonald (Anna Karenina) and Bill Nighy (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) star in the film. Since Bong’s first English-speaking film, last year’s Snowpiercer, the director seems to be an attraction for large ensembles. Along with the cast, Bong said this is his largest project in terms of budget and that it played a large role in choosing Netflix to distribute the film and Plan B to produce.
For ‘Okja,’ I needed a bigger budget than I had for ‘Snowpiercer’ and also complete creative freedom. Netflix offered me the two conditions that are difficult to have in hand simultaneously. I expect the adventurousness of Plan B to blend with ‘Okja.’
The move makes sense for Netflix who is launching their service in South Korea next year. While Snowpiercer did well in the states, it was an even bigger hit in Korea. This makes Bong’s latest the perfect companion to launch with the service.
Gyllenhaal is about to begin shooting Tom Ford’s film Nocturnal Animals while Swinton is working on Marvel’s Doctor Strange. MacDonald will be seen next in Ricky Gervais‘ comedy Special Correspondents.
Okja is set to release in 2016 in Korea. No U.S. release dates have been announced at this time.
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