Kim Hong-sun, the South Korean filmmaker behind acclaimed horror Project Wolf Hunting, is to direct period martial arts action feature The Hit List.
It marks his first film since Project Wolf Hunting, which premiered at Toronto in 2022, and reunites the director with key crew from UK crime series Gangs Of London, his most recent directorial project. South Korea’s Finecut will handle international sales of the upcoming feature.
Set in the 15th century, the story revolves around Han Myeong-hoe, one of the most powerful figures in the history of Korea’s Joseon dynasty, who rose to power through bloodshed; Baek E-hwa, a woman transformed into an embodiment of vengeance after losing everything to Han; and Jang Gil-do, Han’s right-hand man and a formidable warrior.
Han will be played by Jung Woo-sung, whose credits include box-office hit 12.12: The Day, Cannes 2022 spy thriller Hunt and The Good, The Bad, The Weird. The cast also includes Squid Game star Wi Ha-jun as Grand Prince Suyang, who seeks to seize the throne from his young nephew with Han’s backing.
The film is based on a popular Kakao webtoon, which has recorded more than 120 million views. Filming began in October.
The international crew includes director of photography Lars Cox, whose credits include HBO’s House Of The Dragon and Netflix’s The Witcher, and who worked with director Kim on Sky/AMC series Gangs Of London. Also reuniting with Kim from that series is gaffer Kieran Waites, whose credits include Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the Fast & Furious franchise.
Kim is also known for genre titles Traffickers, The Con Artists, The Chase and Metamorphosis.
The Hit List is produced by Cheum Film, Studio Take, Library Company, and B&C Group, and presented by Mascot Company.
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