‘Oldboy’ director U.S.-bound

Filmmaker Park Chan-wook is set to direct his second Hollywood movie, according to U.S.-based entertainment magazine Variety.

The sci-fi thriller “Second Born” is set in the near future in a society in which people are implanted with neural microchips that store their consciousness. The plot centers on how human bodies are traded and sold on the black market.

“Second Born” is based on the original eponymous screenplay by David Jagernauth.

Park, famous for the 2003 hit “Oldboy,” made his directorial debut in Hollywood last year with the film “Stoker” (2013), starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode.

In Korea, the 51-year-old is currently working on a film entitled “Ajeossi,” based on the British novel “Fingersmith.”

Actor Ha Jung-woo has been cast to play the lead role.

After filming here is complete, Park is likely to fly to the United States to work on his second Hollywood feature film.

Park got his start in 1992 and has had a prolific career since. His most successful movies to date include those in his vengeance trilogy, “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” (2002), “Oldboy” (2003) and “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005).

By Sung So-young