“Thrilled to finally announce that A24 has optioned ‘The Sympathizer’ for TV, with director Park Chan-wook, whose films include ‘The Handmaiden,’” Nguyen wrote on Twitter. “His ‘Oldboy’ was a big influence on ‘The Sympathizer,’ and I can’t imagine a better person to direct this TV adaptation.”
Nguyen added, “I hope Park Chan-wook, who did wonders with the octopus in ‘Oldboy,’ will be equally imaginative with the squid in ‘The Sympathizer…’”
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A hybrid of historical fiction and the spy genre, “The Sympathizer” centers around a mole from North Vietnam embedded in the South Vietnamese army. When the mole is exiled to the United States, he remains rooted in a local South Vietnamese community and becomes an advisor to an American film about the Vietnam War (think classics like “Platoon” or “Apocalypse Now”). The mole eventually returns to Vietnam to fight back against the communists.
News of “The Sympathizer” television adaptation comes at a busy time for Park Chan-wook, whose last release was the 2018 series “The Little Drummer Girl.” In October 2020, Park started filming the romantic murder mystery “Decision to Leave” with actors Park Hye-il (best known for Bong Joon Ho’s “The Host” and “Memories of Murder”) and Tang Wei (Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” and Michael Mann’s “Blackhat”). The project marked Park’s return to filmmaking after the 2016 release of “The Handmaiden.” The film follows a detective who falls for a mysterious widow after she becomes the number one suspect in his latest murder investigation.
— Viet Thanh Nguyen (@viet_t_nguyen) April 7, 2021
— Viet Thanh Nguyen (@viet_t_nguyen) April 7, 2021 Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
