Remake of zombie thriller 'Train to Busan' gets a release date

The American version, titled 'Last Train to New York', will be helmed by Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto

Gong Yoo in 'Train to Busan'. Photo: Korean Cultural Centre

Last Train to New York, the American remake of popular South Korean zombie apocalypse classic Train to Busan, now has a release date. The film, to be helmed by Timo Tjahjanto from a script by Gary Dauberman, will hit theatres on April 23, 2023.

Currently, no other details have been announced for the film yet, including who will star in it or how the plot will unfold. When Last Train to New York was first announced in February, some fans of the original took to social media to question the decision of an American remake.

However, despite the outcry, Tjahjanto also took to Twitter to respond to the backlash. He issued his own promise about how an oath was made to not "disrespect and disappoint the fans":

The original film, directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gong Yoo, Don Lee, and Kim Su-an, had its premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and became an international box-office hit and received critical acclaim. It also spawned a sequel, Peninsula, which was released in 2020.

Train to Busan takes place mostly on a train as a zombie apocalypse breaks out in South Korea and threatens all the passengers onboard. While it may seem like a typical horror film, there's more than meets the eye as viewers follow Seok-woo, his estranged young daughter and other passengers during the journey.

Since Train to Busan, Sang-ho has been busy. In addition to directing Peninsula, he’s also behind Netflix’s dark fantasy action series Hellbound, which became one of the streaming platform’s top most-watched shows.

Even though he is working with Netflix for the second season, he hasn’t completely ruled out putting out a third film in the Train to Busan series.

“Personally, I do have some ideas in terms of further development of what happens after Peninsula. But as for whether I will create that into a film, it’s something that I do want to do,” he told Variety. “However, because there are a lot of productions that I’m working on currently, I’m thinking that I have to sort of organise the ideas and work on what I have to work on.

“Up until now, I have been someone who’s been an individual creator. But these days I’m thinking that maybe I need to come up with a system in order to really bring all of my creative visions to life.”

In 'Hellbound', Yang Ik-june plays detective Jin Kyung-hoon, who is struggling to reconcile with his teenage daughter after the murder of his wife. All photos: Netflix

The show is set in an alternative universe where an apparition randomly appears to pronounce the impending death of people who've committed some form of crime.

Death sentences are carried out on a specific date and time by three smoky Hulk-like beings who appear out of nowhere, tearing apart the damned and sending them to 'hell'.

Religious group New Truth, whose leader claims to have intimate knowledge of the beings, insist it's God's way of meting out judgment.

'Hellbound' is receiving rave reviews after it was released on November 19, and has a 100 per cent 'fresh' rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Kim Hyun-joo plays lawyer Min Hye-jin who tries to help a damned woman and becomes the target of New Truth and Arrowheads.

Park Jungja in the show.

The puzzling appearance of the supernatural beings soon leads to conspiracy theories as large-scale pandemonium ensues.

Vigilantes are egged on by a masked internet star who pronounces his own witch-hunts from a gaming chair.

Critics are praising the show for its philosophical tone, while presenting it in a Marvel-style action flick, albeit a more violent and bloodier version.