Director Shim Hyung-rae and "D-War" [Shim Hyung-rae YouTube channel]
Director Shim Hyung-rae and "D-War" [Shim Hyung-rae YouTube channel]

Director Shim Hyung-rae, whose 2007 film "D-War" sparked fierce debate over its artistic merit, is returning to the big screen 19 years later with a sequel.

Shim said in an interview Friday that preparations for "D-War 2" are well underway. The original film ended with an imugi — a serpentine creature from Korean mythology — transforming into a dragon and ascending to the heavens; the sequel will pick up the story from there.

The screenplay and investment arrangements are complete, and casting is now in progress, Shim said. He aims to hold a production announcement event for "D-War 2" at the end of this year and begin filming in early next year.

"We plan to shoot about 80 percent of the film in the United States, with the rest filmed across four countries including Korea, Europe and China," he said. "Compared to the first film, the technology and scale will be completely different."

"There were quite a few things I couldn't express in the first film because the technology wasn't there," he added. "Now I can realize them with a level of precision and detail that simply wasn't possible back then."

His top casting choice is Hollywood star Jack Black. "I heard from the producer that Jack Black is very eager to be involved," Shim said. "He's my number one pick right now."

"D-War" has been gaining renewed attention after its recent arrival on Netflix, where it has been climbing the global rankings. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks global OTT rankings, the film reached No. 6 on Netflix's worldwide movie chart on Monday.

Shim said he was caught off guard by the surge. "Foreign audiences seem to be enjoying it simply as a sci-fi film, without any preconceptions," he said.

"I had been saying for decades that we needed to make films in English using our own content, and back then it was hard going — I took a lot of heat for it," he said. "Seeing what's happening now, I feel like my judgment at the time wasn't wrong."

Shim also recalled the criticism he faced for including Arirang, a traditional Korean folk song, over the film's ending credits. "At the time I was attacked for using Arirang, with people calling it 'patriotism marketing,'" he said. "Now, with the world's interest in K-content growing, I think the way people look at our traditional material and Arirang has changed a great deal."

He went on to mention that BTS had recently sung Arirang together with audiences at overseas concerts. "Nineteen years ago I was criticized for putting Arirang in 'D-War,' and now global audiences are singing it together and cheering," he said. "That shows how much the perception of Korean culture has changed."

"D-War" is a sci-fi fantasy film inspired by the Korean legend of the imugi, set in Los Angeles, depicting a battle between mythical creatures over a mystical orb.

Upon its release, the film drew intense criticism over its quality — reviewers cited a lack of narrative coherence and faulted its computer graphics and direction, with many dismissing it as a failure. At the same time, it cultivated a patriotic fandom among viewers who took pride in seeing Korea produce a blockbuster-scale monster film. The film drew about 8 million domestic viewers and finished as the top-grossing film in Korea for 2007.

"D-War" cost about 30 billion won ($21.2 million) to produce. Shim was sued on fraud charges for failing to repay loans taken out to finance the film, but was cleared after demonstrating his intent to repay. In 2011, he filed for personal bankruptcy after being unable to repay 17.9 billion won in debts accumulated through filmmaking and other activities, and received a discharge on most of those obligations.


paq@heraldcorp.com