Get ready for this: Tilda Swinton, ethereal swan woman and excellent actor, is set to take the lead in the TV adaptation of awards season darling, Parasite, according to reports.
The Korean genre-defying film has taken the world of cinema by storm in the last few months. In the UK alone, Parasite debuted at just 137 locations, yet frequently sold out screenings and made over £1.09 million on the opening weekend. An extended run following Bong’s dominance at the 2020 Oscars promises to have brought in even more than that over this past weekend.
It’s perhaps unsurprising then, that an English-speaking TV adaptation is reportedly already in the works. Set to take the form of a six episode HBO miniseries, Parasite (the TV show) has already tapped up a seriously impressive cast. Alongside frequent Bong Joon Ho collaborator Tilda (who worked with the director on 2017’s Okja and his 2013 breakthrough Snowpiercer), Mark Ruffalo is being touted as male lead, alongside Succession’s Adam McKay.
Perhaps because that’s enough to send Twitter into a frenzy of both positive and negative excitement (with some fans concerned about whitewashing), HBO have advised stan caution. “The HBO limited series inspired by Parasite is in the early stages of development, and to speculate on any characters or casting is wildly premature,” the studio said in a statement.
And yes, while no
official
casting or filming announcement has been made just yet, Bong indulged reporters on the Oscar red carpet with some snippets of information about the show,
divulging
that it was already in the early stages of production. “Right now we’re still talking about the structure of the narrative,” he revealed. “I can’t wait to talk about the actors. I’m very excited to see who will join the cast.
Needless to say, us too.