A sequel to director Na Hong-jin’s alien action blockbuster “Hope,” which rocked the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday night, is already in production.
The Korean writer revealed the news at a press conference on Monday, saying, “I think it’s easy to imagine a sequel to this. And I already have a completed script and I would like to shoot it. So, if I have a chance, I would like to make a sequel if possible.”
Starring Hwang Jeong-min, Zo In-sung, and Ho-young Jeong, as well as Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell, and Cameron Britton, this big-budget film combines a gritty survival story with original sci-fi mythology. Fassbender, Vikander, and Russell all play CGI aliens invading Earth.
Asked at a press conference why she agreed to appear in the film, Vikander said that she became interested in Korean films after attending the Busan Film Festival early in her career. “I fell in love with Asian cinema,” she said, noting that she was “completely blown away” after watching Na’s previous film, “The Voice of Lament.” She tried to work on another project with Na, but it never materialized. Then he “reached out a couple of years later and said, ‘There are aliens.'” And I was intrigued,” she continued. “I didn’t think about it. I said yes. I think director Na is a wonderful person and a very visionary person. I was very honored to be a part of his film.”
Fassbender, who is married to Vikander, quipped, “Alicia told me to do it.”
“He listens to me!” she answered, and the room erupted in laughter.
Russell said Vikander also approached her about the project, but she had wanted to make a foreign film for a while. “My dream is to be able to work with a writer on a foreign language film. And director Na is a writer who makes great films,” she said.
“It’s a dream come true when you think about it. I can’t even imagine being in one of his movies because I think it would be unbelievable. So when I got the call, I thought, this is going to be a fun journey because you made me laugh the whole time I was talking to you,” Russell added. “I would like to be able to appear in more Korean movies and be able to speak Korean in the future.”
Na said he “did everything in my power to convince” the three stars. “All three of these characters, Alicia and Michael, and of course Taylor, really have their own worlds,” he said. “For me, I wanted to be able to build a whole world around them, so that’s why I convinced them to work with me…Michael is one of the actors I love the most and respect the most, so I really wanted to work with him.”
