Update: As we predicted, Emma Stone will reunite with Yorgo Lanthimos for the film in a supporting role, Variety reports.
Following up Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos already has another film in the can with Variety reports.
The 2003 original, directed by Joon-hwan Jang (who was originally attached to helm this new version), is a black comedy meets sci-fi thriller. Lanthimos’ version, based on a script by Will Tracy (Succession), will kick off production in U.K. and New York this summer, so we can expect a 2025 release, which would mark three consecutive features from the director in a row. Although no casting has been confirmed yet, Emma Stone and Lanthimos recently revealed they are already looking for another project to do together, so we’ll see if this will mark yet another reunion. In the meantime, see the synopsis for the Korean film below.
In the original film, 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.
“Swinging with youthful abandon between white-knuckle suspense, absurd slapstick, grim horror and a deeply felt (and earned) sense of tragedy, Save the Green Planet is one of the most remarkable films to come out of South Korea – among this recent wave or any wave, for that matter,” said Ari Aster and co-producer Lars Knudsen.
See the trailer for the original, which is now available on Kanopy, below.