Netflix invests $50 million toward Bong Joon-ho’s latest film ‘Okja’

We’ve got Nacho Vigalondo working on a killer kaiju tale called COLOSSAL starring Anne Hathaway; Legendary Pictures is bringing King Kong to life with KONG: SKULL ISLAND (and, eventually, GODZILLA 2 and KONG VS. GODZILLA), and perhaps most excitingly, Bong Joon-ho – director of one of the better monster movies in recent memory – is now tackling another creature feature called OKJA. Netflix is supposed to give the film a theatrical release in the first half of 2017, so there’s still a while to wait.

“Also, Plan B Entertainment has also produced bold and daring films”.

“I needed greater budget and freedom for “Okja” than I had with ‘Snowpiercer, ‘” Bong was quoted as saying.

Netflix and Brad Pitt’s Plan B are joining forces again to make Okja, the new film from acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. With his $40 million Snowpiercer, Bong already set a record for the most expensive Korean film of all time but it sounds like he will break his own benchmark with his latest, which is being pegged at $50 million. Okja is one of Netflix’s few Asian productions along with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2 and the original drama Marco Polo.

He said: “It really is a fantastic opportunity for me as a film maker”. Part of the attraction is the cast – Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Kelly Macdonald and Bill Nighy, as well as Tilda Swinton; though the lead character is actually a young Korean girl who befriends a monster with “a kind spirit” named Okja.

Particularly as the streaming service is looking to expand into South Korea next year. “Netflix offered me the two conditions that are hard to have in hand simultaneously”. “To me, the insane world surrounding Okja and the girl looks more like a monster”.