Joo Ji-hoon courted to be grim reaper minion in fantasy saga With the Gods

by girlfriday

It’s interesting that the big fantasy blockbuster With the Gods is having to go through so many casting rounds, because I’d be first in line to play a minion to Ha Jung-woo’s grim reaper. How fun would that be? Sadly Kim Woo-bin declined and so did Park Bo-young (double saaaaaaad), but now Joo Ji-hoon (Mask) is considering the offer to join the production, as is Cha Tae-hyun (The Producers).

The project from writer-director Kim Yong-hwa of Take Off and 200-Pound Beauty is based on the satirical comic by Joo Ho-min, about the afterlife world where fickle gods put newly deceased human souls on trial (with an afterlife defense attorney provided, of course) to determine your ultimate fate. The central character is a grim reaper (played by Ha Jung-woo), a centuries-old young man who moves between the living and the dead to collect souls and put them on the subway train to the afterlife.

He’s a prickly, deadpan character who always travels with two reaper minions — a man and a woman — and together they’re the grim reaper trio. Joo Ji-hoon is being courted to play one of the reaper underlings, a skilled fighter who’s especially protective of the female grim reaper. She’s the youngest in the group, and she in turn has a one-sided crush on Ha Jung-woo’s character. Aw, can’t reapers find love too? (Though from what I gather, it’s not a manhwa about romance, so I think it’s all unrequited feelings in the workplace.)

Cha Tae-hyun is also considering a role, but it hasn’t been specified which character he’s up for. There’s a human and a lawyer in the story too — an average salaryman who died, and the afterlife public defender who gets assigned to his case — so perhaps it’s one of them. Or maybe he’s playing a god. I think there are a lot of characters in this world.

It’ll be a two-film saga with both parts shot simultaneously, which might explain why it’s been difficult to get actors signed on for such a big chunk of time. Part 1 will be about the afterlife and the reapers and lawyers who work there, and Part 2 will be about those characters’ past lives. Oooh, I can’t wait for the backstories! I can’t imagine how long it’ll be before we see the second film, but I’ll be here! Waiting impatiently!

With the Gods begins shooting in 2016.

Via Newsen

RELATED POSTS

• Ha Jung-woo, Bae Doo-na headline new thriller Tunnel
• Ha Jung-woo confirms grim reaper role in fantasy movie
• Kim Woo-bin offered fantasy movie opposite Ha Jung-woo
• Mask: Episodes 1-2
• The Producers: Episode 1
• Joo Ji-hoon offered SBS melodrama Mask with Su Ae
• Malaise and distrust tear Good Friends apart