It’s been an incredible couple of days for Bong Joon-ho and Parasite. Yesterday his film won a Critics Choice for Best Foreign Language, while he won Best Director. And this morning Parasite came away with 6 total Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. But this is only the beginning because we know the film is making its way to HBO as a limited series that has everyone speculating on what it could be.
The news broke last week that Bong Joon-ho and Adam McKay would be producing a Parasite limited series for HBO. Details were scarce at the time; such as if it would be a sequel or spinoff or some other reimagining. Speaking with Deadline, the director says it’s his chance to expand on ideas he simply didn’t have time for with the movie…
“I really liked Adam McKay’s ‘The Big Short’ and I loved his sense of humor, and the sharp satire he conveyed about the current American politics. With ‘Parasite,’ while I was writing the script I had so many more ideas I couldn’t convey into the two-hour running time of the film. I knew that if I had a longer running time, I would be able to tell these stories, and that’s what I plan to talk about with Adam pretty soon.”
He continued, “Though I’m not very familiar with the TV industry, I really consider this limited series an expanded film that can delve deeper into the stories that didn’t make it into ‘Parasite.’ Adam McKay and HBO have created the amazing show ‘Succession,’ so they’re very reliable and amazing partners to have.”
Sounds like Bong Joon-ho and McKay are vibing here, which should take some of the edge off of those who are pissed at seeing Parasite redone in any way. At this point, I’m willing to give anything the benefit of the doubt after what HBO was able to do with Watchmen, and I have a lot more faith in Joon-ho than I did Damon Lindelof. Consider me optimistic.
