Sohn Ye-jin considers dramaland comeback in King’s Face

by girlfriday

I wondered if this project had fizzled, but it looks like it’s back on: There was talk last year of a drama adaptation of the hit blockbuster fusion sageuk The Face Reader, which was planning to head to the small screen in the latter half of this year. The drama version will be called The King’s Face, and producers are now in talks with KBS for a possible slot on the fall schedule, and Sohn Ye-jin (Shark) is being courted to star.

The Face Reader is a witty fusion retelling of the era leading up to Grand Prince Suyang’s coup, focusing on a fortuneteller (played by Song Kang-ho) who reads people’s faces and knows their fates. I highly recommend the movie, though I’d caution you against setting your drama expectations anywhere near the film — it’s a slick blockbuster with a top-notch cast (Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo, Jo Jung-seok, Baek Yoon-shik, Lee Jong-seok). Still, I’m excited for another version of the story and another incarnation of Song Kang-ho’s memorable fortuneteller.

The drama adaptation will shift the focus onto Prince Gwanghae, over a century later in Joseon. He was born to a concubine and struggled for legitimacy even when enthroned, always fearing for his life in an unstable political position. The drama will tell the story of Prince Gwanghae as he uses face-reading as a weapon to recover his destiny and become king. I can see why they might want to use face-reading for good in the drama version, though the constant danger of Grand Prince Suyang kept us on our toes in the movie (in a really good way). Sohn is being courted to play the leading lady loved by two men, one of them Prince Gwanghae.

It’s far from a done deal, but the drama is angling for the Wednesday-Thursday slot following Iron Man (which comes after Joseon Gunman). There must be a bit of a feud going on for that November timeslot, because in all the recent casting news, Song Ji-nah’s new drama Healer is planning to air after Iron Man too. I guess we’ll have to wait until the dust settles at KBS to know who’s up before the year is out (and if it picks up The King’s Face at all). Is it too late to vote for Iron Man to get pushed to 2015?

Via TV Report

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