The South Korean zombie-horror flick Train to Busan is getting an American remake.
A Dateline report says that US studio New Line Cinema is in talks with Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto to helm the film based on the 2016 blockbuster. Currently on board for the project is James Wan, who will produce the film, while Gary Dauberman will adapt the screenplay.
The original film, directed by Yeon Sang-ho , premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and became an international box-office hit and received critical acclaim. It also spawned a sequel, Train to Busan: 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 on board. 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.
As news broke about an American remake, fans of the original were quick to take to social media to question why it was needed in the first place.
A few users brought up the age-old issue of subtitles in foreign films:
To the people who want to remake Train To Busan.... pic.twitter.com/Clo41NkHHy
— ᴮᴱCeleste (@celeste134340) February 20, 2021
Train To Busan does not need a remake stop crying over subtitles pic.twitter.com/cj4f3DthSs
— zahra (@ctrlzahra) February 19, 2021
While other suggested elements that made the first film so special would get lost in translation:
Train to Busan is based on VERY Korean things like culture, history and class that is specific to Korea. Remaking it in the US will strip it of the things that made it special. Just watch the original.
— Kat Cho (Away) (@KatCho) February 19, 2021
signed, a Korean person who is terrified of horror films but appreciates TTB
Look, I work in Hollywood. But I feel like I need to tell everyone else working in Hollywood something:
— James S.A. Corey (@JamesSACorey) February 20, 2021
There is literally nothing about Train to Busan that you can do an American remake of and have it be anything resembling Train to Busan except maybe a train? Maybe?
Some even joked about how the film would fare as an American remake considering high-speed bullet trains don't exist the way they do in South Korea:
How you gonna do a US remake of train to busan when the US doesn't have high speed rail tho
— Tochi Onyebuchi tweeting frm inside thicc ms potts (@TochiTrueStory) February 19, 2021
cant believe americans are turning train to busan into road to california
— serena moved (@linocitys) February 19, 2021
i heard that the U.S. remake of Train to Busan is gonna be 5 hours long bc it takes place in NYC, and for the first few hours? the subway is stuck just outside Jay St.-Metrotech
— Karen Chee (@karencheee) February 20, 2021
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":
Nothing is ever gonna top the OG : TRAIN TO BUSAN, a beloved horror in which I bawled my eyes out (never happened since Amenabar’s The Others ).
— Timo Tjahjanto (@Timobros) February 19, 2021
Having said that James, Gary & I made an absolute oath : Don’t disrespect & disappoint the fans.
And yeah..punk rock. pic.twitter.com/2NcKBz2oBk
While also jokingly sharing the good news about how he doesn't have to rewrite the script:
The absolute good news is I am NOT the writer of Train to Busan Remake. pic.twitter.com/BVWZxQMdG0
— Timo Tjahjanto (@Timobros) February 19, 2021
The Train to Busan remake has yet to reveal any other details about the project including who will be cast, what it will be called or when it will be released.