Korean actress and model Hoyeon, who broke into the headlines for her role in Netflix’s “Squid Game,” has been cast to make her feature film debut in director Na Hong-Jin’s (The Wailing) Korean thriller Hope, which will see her working opposite Oscar winner Alicia Vikander and Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender.
The project is the first leading role for Hoyeon in a Korean project since her screen debut in “Squid Game,” for which she became the first non-English-speaking actress to win Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series at the SAG Awards and the first Korean nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmy Awards.
This predominantly Korean-language film is reported to center on the residents of Hopo Port, where a mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote port town. Before long, the locals are thrust into a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before. Hoyeon will play a police officer.
Further casting and pre-production is already underway with principal photography scheduled to begin in Korea later this year. Fassbender and Vikander became involved in the project based on the director’s previous work. This will be the married couple’s second film project together after Derek Cianfrance’s The Light Between Oceans whcih released in 2016.
Korean producer-distributor Plus M Entertainment, owned by multiplex chain Megabox, is behind the project after recently securing a financing and distribution deal with Na, also known for the Korean films The Chaser and The Yellow Sea.
The film will be produced under Na’s Forged Films production banner. Plus M is handling international sales, with UTA Independent Film Group and Plus M handling North American sales. The Korean company is already pursuing additional IP opportunities for the project.
Commenting on the casting news, Na said, “Everything about Hoyeon aligned with what I envisioned for Sung-Ae. Her bold, bright energy will be a great source of strength for this film.”
Hoyeon will also soon be starring in Alfonso Cuaron’s Apple TV+ thriller series “Disclaimer”, and is scheduled to film Joe Talbot’s “The Governesses” alongside Lily-Rose Depp and Renate Reinsve as soon as Hope wraps.
