Park Chan-Wook To Direct Body Swap Sci-Fi Thriller Second Born

After mastering his English language debut Stoker with the assuredness and deft hand of a true auteur, Park Chan-Wook will return to his native tongue for his upcoming feature, Fingersmith. That commitment aside, doesn’t mean the Oldboy director isn’t fielding offers stateside. According to Variety‘s breaking report today, the South Korean helmer will venture back to the dark side of human nature at some point, as he’s signed on to tackle futuristic sci-fi thriller, Second Born.

Based on an original spec script by newcomer David Jagernauth, the brief synopsis draws comparisons to a range of genre classics. Based on what we know thus far, Second Born will be “set in a futuristic world where consciousness is stored on computer chips and bodies are bought and sold on the black-market. A murdered cop is reborn in a stranger’s body in order to bring down a body-snatching cult that has taken over the government.”

Strange Days and Blade Runner are the most obvious nods which spring to mind, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be a retread of typical sci-fi tropes. There’s plenty of room for new ideas spun out of similar territory. Fans of sci-fi should be rejoicing at the fact that Park is bringing this to the big screen. Never afraid to take risks, his style has often brandished pioneering methods of storytelling.

At this stage, there’s no news on exactly when shooting is slated to commence, but the financial side and production team are gearing up to make waves. Spearheading production on the body heist pic is Rumble Films’ David Lancaster and Stephanie Wilcox, alongside long-time Park collaborator, Wonjo Jeong.

We will keep you posted when any new developments arise on Second Born, so stay tuned!