Even if you haven’t heard of Korean director Bong Joon-ho, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about his hit 2014 sci-fi dystopian film Snowpiercer, considered by many to be one of the best films of that year. Now, the director’s latest film has been announced and is set for a release date next year, but not primarily on the big screen. Instead, the rights for Joon-ho’s Okja have been acquired by Netflix, which will debut the upcoming film on their streaming service next summer, as well as provide a limited theatrical release in the U.S. In order to promote Okja last Friday, Netflix unveiled still images of two of its characters: Mija (Seo Hyun An) and Red (Lily Collins), the latter of whom is drawn in a storyboard design.
Written in joint collaboration between Bong and Jon Ronson (Frank, The Men Who Stare at Goats) and tells the story of a girl named Mija, who must risk everything to prevent a multinational company from kidnapping her friend, a massive fantasy-esque animal named Okja. Starring alongside An and Collins will be Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Byun Heebong, Yoon Je Moon and Steven Yeun. None of these actor’s roles have been announced yet, but they should be unveiled over the next couple months.
The relationship of this film, according to Joon-ho, will be the bond that exists between Mija and Okja, the latter of whom he described as “a unique animal that we’ve not seen before.” At the same time, he acknowledges that the film “is essentially a story about capitalism,” hinting at a larger thematic role concerning the company wishing to acquire Okja.
Okja will be a Plan B, Lewis Pictures and Kate Street Picture Company production, with Joon-ho, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt and Lewis Taewan Kim signed on as producers. The film is set to be released in the summer of 2017.
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