Joo Ji-hoon confirms superhero fantasy drama Item

70 September 10, 2018September 10, 2018

by girlfriday

I’m still on pins and needles for Joo Ji-hoon to be a zombie-fighting Joseon prince, because it feels like I’ve been excited for his new drama Kingdom for eons now. But since that upcoming drama is fully pre-produced, the actor is already lining up his next drama project. Following Netflix’s Kingdom, he’s confirmed to take on the starring role in MBC’s new fantasy drama Item, about an ordinary man who develops superpowers.

Item comes from PD Kim Sung-wook (second director on Father I’ll Take Care of You and Goodbye Mr. Black), and will be the second drama from writer Jung Ido, who debuted with OCN’s adaptation of Rescue Me last year, about a terrifying cult that takes root in a small town. I loved Rescue Me, so I’m hopeful that this new drama will have an interesting edge to it as well. This one is also based on a webtoon, and it’s about a man who takes on various superpowers based on items he collects, much like a video game.

Kim Kang-woo, Jin Se-yeon

It’s described as a fantasy blockbuster about ordinary people taking on different superpowers, and Joo Ji-hoon has signed on to play a righteous prosecutor who dives headfirst into a mystery surrounding these items in order to rescue his niece. In the process he’ll go up against Kim Kang-woo (My Husband Oh Jak-doo), a genius sociopath inventor who is obsessed with collecting these items and is willing to kill to have them. An offer is also out to Jin Se-yeon (Grand Prince) to play the female lead, but she’s still unconfirmed for the role.

I don’t know if I’m fully onboard with the collect-an-item-and-get-a-superpower setup of this, but maybe it’s one of those things we’ll have to see in action, because it sounds a little hokey on paper. I do love the Joo Ji-hoon/Kim Kang-woo matchup as hero and villain though, so I’m looking forward to seeing their epic battles unfold.

Item is due out in late January 2019.

Via iMBC, IS Plus, Xports News

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1 Midnight

September 10, 2018 at 4:12 AM

Funny, the Joo Ji-hoon/Kim Kang-woo matchup as hero and villain sounds completely in reverse to me.

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goldenaddiction

September 10, 2018 at 12:41 PM

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking :)

Maybe that's a part of the characters though? Not looking like what they really are...

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javabeans

September 10, 2018 at 10:15 PM

KIM KANG-WOO IS THE BEST VILLAINNNNNN

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Midnight

September 10, 2018 at 10:51 PM

OMG I got a reply from Javabeans! Kim Kang-Woo it is then!

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2 mary

September 10, 2018 at 4:16 AM

PLEASE YES AT EVERYTHING

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3 mary

September 10, 2018 at 4:19 AM

I like the item-collection thing. It's a bit like Liar Game where normal people battle each other for perks in real life.

Ah, now I badly want Shin Sung-rok in this though I don't want to give up either Joo Ji-hoon or Kim Kang-woo. Don't they need a mysterious game master to preside over the fights?

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Cocoa, The Fake Poet of February

September 10, 2018 at 4:50 AM

Now you are describing a yugioh/gaming anime adaptation 😂

I mean, I’d still be pumped for it ~

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Yuyuu, The Drama Queen

September 10, 2018 at 9:34 AM

What a trio that would be! 💖🌈✨

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4 Radily

September 10, 2018 at 4:20 AM

Jin Se-yeon is an actress I doubt will be able to match up to the skills of the two male actors (granted I haven't seen her last drama Grand Prince , although frankly speaking that show also had two leading male actors of a different acting tier) ... so ideally I still hope a better actress takes on the role ...

... Or maybe the role is suited for her after all? If she plays the niece, she does have quite the damsel-in-distress experience (considering how many times she survives after life-threatening situations in dramas), but if it's something like a cop (to match the prosecutor and the legal backdrop of the show) or someone involved with the superpowers, she will be drowned out for sure by the male leads.

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5 nerdy

September 10, 2018 at 4:22 AM

Joo Ji hoon?
Save Me's writer?
Kim Kang Woo?
I am also in minority of those who actually like Jin Se Yeon, so this drama is dream come true.
On another note, I am happy that Kingdom is still alive, there were no news about it so I thought it was a dead project

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6 Amy

September 10, 2018 at 4:24 AM

uh oh... I would love to see Kim Kang Woo in the hero role. I loved him a lot in the drama 'A man's story' that it was difficult to empathise with the hero's plight much. I think he likes to play characters with an edge and also it seems sociopath/antihero is the most coveted role among actors these days.

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7 midjohn33

September 10, 2018 at 4:32 AM

anyone else think 'warehouse 13'?

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PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 5:20 AM

Actually, ALIAS came to mind first, but now that you mention it, WAREHOUSE 13 is apropos, too. As is EUREKA. ;-)

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Alessar

September 10, 2018 at 7:31 AM

Well before Warehouse 13 but after Alias came "The Lost Room." That was a miniseries on the SciFi channel about people chasing after mundane seeming items with wildly different powers. The items were all objects that were in Room 13 of a certain motel on a day when reality broke in some way. Each item was indestructible and had some weird power, like the man's watch could hard boil an egg if you wrapped the wrist band around it, but the glass eye was a full on disintegrate people ray if you replaced your own eye with it. And when you combined objects sometimes the resulting powers were even greater. There were individual collectors as well as full on cults chasing after these items and one man got stuck in the crossfire. It was interesting and creepy and so creative.

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Flightey Gazelles

September 10, 2018 at 10:09 AM

Wow, the Warehouse 13 movie sounds very interesting.

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mary

September 10, 2018 at 10:14 AM

*taking notes*

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PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 10:31 AM

Comment was deleted

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PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 10:59 AM

@alessar,

Thanks for mentioning THE LOST ROOM. That's totally a new one on me. It may have aired after our cable TV provider dropped SyFy Channel from our tier of service.

The Rambaldi devices in ALIAS were enough for me. I watched a couple of seasons of WAREHOUSE 13, but eventually got bored with the TARDIS-like stash full of weird and malevolent gizmos. I got more of a kick out of the Rube Goldberg contraptions that were churned out by the labs in EUREKA. Sheriff Carter's peevishly sentient Smart(A**) House was one of my favorite characters. ;-)

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midjohn33

September 10, 2018 at 11:38 AM

Yeah, I dropped Warehouse 13 after 2, but stuck with Eureka to the end. A very friendly show, and loved Wil Wheaton's appearances too.

Alessar

September 10, 2018 at 11:40 AM

Lost Room is so old it was a SciFi Channel original, not Syfy. :P It's from the era of Invisible Man and Farscape.

PakalanaPikake

September 11, 2018 at 12:46 AM

@alessar September 10, 2018 at 11:40 AM

What a blast from the past. I dimly recall when SciFi Channel morphed into SyFy. It sounded too darned precious.

I don't recall INVISIBLE MAN, for some reason. LEXX and FARSCAPE, on the other hand, still rattle around in the back of my mind. As does the intergalactic bounty-hunter saga, STARHUNTER (2001) with former chef Michael Paré. It only lasted two seasons, but I really liked that Canadian production.

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PakalanaPikake

September 11, 2018 at 1:07 AM

@midjohn33 September 10, 2018 at 11:38 AM

I think I watched more than two seasons of WAREHOUSE 13, but after a while it got kind of dark or repetitive... and the blush was off the rose.

EUREKA was a more interesting show to me. It was a blast seeing Matt "Max Headroom" Frewer as the whack-o biologist/critter wrangler, but he didn't seem to be around much after the first season or so. AI Officer
Andy was one of my favorite characters, along with his human boss. Sheriff Carter and his wisecracking daughter were fun, but also had poignant and philosophical interludes that I enjoyed. And the young mad scientist who was always cooking up strange contraptions (and doubled as the voice of the SmartA** House) was a hoot. Henry was a great character, too.

I hadn't been able to watch MAX HEADROOM back in the day because of a schedule conflict, so only saw it once or twice. I don't think it lasted very long, either. Methinks it aired in the mid-80s, and that may have been before Mr. PakalanPikake got a VCR. Yeah -- it was back in the Lower Devo-nian. The show was so scruffy and dystopian that I wasn't going nuts to see it. When Max, the talking head who used to pop up on random monitors, ran short on bandwidth, his image and sound stuttered, and little kids impersonated the stuttering speech. Sounded like they had neurological problems. Which wasn't much different from how some of the dances of the '60s looked to me. ;-)

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midjohn33

September 11, 2018 at 5:21 AM

Yeah, I remember thinking "Max Headroom!" when I first saw Matt Frewer in Eureka (and pretty much anything, tbh). I didn't see as much of it as I would have liked, but although scruffy and dystopian was exactly why I did like it, I won't go back for it now, to preserve it in the soft cocoon of nostalgia. Farscape, otoh, has stood up well to repeated rewatches.

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8 Amy

September 10, 2018 at 4:39 AM

Again something unrelated to the post but hoping for a reply...
We can follow other beanies but we won't be getting any notifications about their update (in fan walls or the like) and more than that nothing comes up when I click the icon showing 'following'. I mean, after some time I don't really know who all I followed and if I want to look them up I should go to the comment section to find their name, is that how it works? I am sorry if this sounds stupid but please correct me if I am misunderstanding something.

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mary

September 10, 2018 at 10:20 AM

Oh noes. Sorry for confusing you! Those features really do nothing for now T___T It's in our very long to-do list, but we've been working on removing the bugs first before adding more features so we don't have an ETA for them. :(

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Rukia wants melona

September 10, 2018 at 12:07 PM

I hae noticed that if someone I'm following (or maybe it's someone following me?) likes something I do, or mentions me or replies to me... the notification seems to stay in my notification list longer...?
This might be wishful thinking, but I have wondered.

GO, @mary! I am sure that you are doing your best and am enjoying every little treat as it comes out!
Thank you, my dear!! <3 <3 ^^

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Amy

September 10, 2018 at 12:33 PM

Thanks for replying. Just wanted to clarify the doubt.
#fightingDBteam

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9 nokcha

September 10, 2018 at 4:40 AM

I'm very excited to see Joo Ji-Hoon in a hero role. He usually plays dark roles, so I'm really looking forward to this.

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10 songsong

September 10, 2018 at 4:56 AM

So excited when I see the names Joo Ji Hoon and Kim Kang Woo!
But gosh what is Jin Se Yeon's name doing there?! Surely they can find a better actress!
Seo Ye Ji from Rescue Me is a better female lead or anyone else.

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Eries be the Light

September 10, 2018 at 5:17 AM

Sure, Seo Ye Ji is better than Jin Se Yeon in acting, but Jin Se Yeon always star in success drama. I do hope that they can cast different actress, but if Jin Se Yeon say yes is not matter for me. JJH and KKW just enough for me.

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astromantic

September 10, 2018 at 12:36 PM

Seo Yeji would be perfect casting.

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11 seoul_searcher

September 10, 2018 at 5:13 AM

I enjoyed both Kim Kang woo and Ju Ji Hoon’s performance in treacherous and it’ll be interesting to see their relationship here as well. The plot really does sound childish on paper but hopefully the execution is cooler than it sounds.

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12 PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 5:17 AM

Thanks for the casting news for ITEM, girlfriday. It sounds as if Q's evil twin will be whipping up a batch of gadgets. But my first thought was of the Rambaldi devices from ALIAS. I'm excited to see Kim Kang-woo again after his turn in CIRCLE. I can't wait to see Joo Ji-hoon fighting off zombies in KINGDOM, and now have another show to anticipate. He was terrific in MAWANG

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Diana Hansen

September 10, 2018 at 8:36 AM

truth all of it!

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13 egads aka Dame Maggie

September 10, 2018 at 5:18 AM

I was just thinking Kim Kang-woo needed to come back into my life, and if he is a slightly murderous genius sociopath inventor, I'll take that. I'm okay with adding Jak-doo to the beautiful serial killer list.

Anyone else hoping Kim Kang-woo will have a vest with many pockets to keep his collection close, or is that just me?

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🍙 kimbap noona

September 10, 2018 at 6:11 AM

LOL at "slightly murderous",
or is it "slightly genius" and "slightly sociopath"?

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14 fay17

September 10, 2018 at 5:51 AM

I really hope that Jin Se-yeon rejects the role. Can't see her romancing joo ji hoon.. :S

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bbstl 🧹

September 10, 2018 at 8:21 AM

Ewwwwww so true 🤢
Let's have none of that!

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PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 10:35 AM

Yer slaying me, Sis. ;-)

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PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 10:34 AM

I'd be fine with a rematch with Shin Min-ah. ;-)

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astromantic

September 10, 2018 at 12:35 PM

I'd rather romance him tbh

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HANI

September 10, 2018 at 7:28 PM

Dont we all? 😉😉😉

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HANI

September 10, 2018 at 7:28 PM

Too bad. She just confirmed to join
Gaahhh...

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songsong

September 10, 2018 at 7:52 PM

Gaahhhh...Jin Se Yeon is the weakest link in this!

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fay17

September 11, 2018 at 4:18 AM

Yeah. :'(

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15 Kurama

September 10, 2018 at 6:03 AM

Oh no, please not a Five Fingers reunion. She was not of the same level as Joo Ji Hoon or Chae Si Ra. I couldn't finish Flower in Prison, I loved the young actress and Go Soo...

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16 beantown

September 10, 2018 at 7:10 AM

Sorry, I got completely stuck at ZOMBIE-FIGHTING JOSEON PRINCE!?! What?! Yes, please!

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Alessar

September 10, 2018 at 7:32 AM

With Doona Bae. On Netflix, funded by them. Fully filmed and in post-production.

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beantown

September 10, 2018 at 8:03 AM

Which begs the question...is it still a kdrama if its funded with American dollars? Money tends to make the decisions!

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egads aka Dame Maggie

September 10, 2018 at 8:44 AM

Netflix is throwing money at productions all over the place, and while I have some not-so-good thoughts on how they are releasing episodes (or not, grrrr), I love that writers and directors are being given an opportunity to have a creative license outside of the studios, and reaching a wide audience.

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PakalanaPikake

September 10, 2018 at 10:42 AM

KINGDOM is the title of the Netflix drama. I just read on AsianWiki that it is now listed as 6 episodes. Earlier it had been 8.

http://asianwiki.com/Kingdom_(Korean_Drama)

Not to be confused with RAMPANT -- Hyun Bin's forthcoming zombie sageuk film. It's supposed to premiere in October.

http://asianwiki.com/Rampant_(Korean_Movie)

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17 Diana Hansen

September 10, 2018 at 8:34 AM

i love the both of them so together in one drama is double scoop of fun. however, i like both of them to be the good guys so it will be interesting.

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18 alasecond

September 10, 2018 at 9:13 AM

korea should also make a live action version of Death Note.. am sure it will rock

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19 Flightey Gazelles

September 10, 2018 at 10:12 AM

The people getting superpowers from the items bit, reminds me of SmallVille and the town people getting powers from being exposed to green meteor.

The description of Kim Kang Woo 's character is giving me Hero vibes( American series).

Always welcome to see Joo Ji Hoon's name.

And lol @no comments regarding Jin Se Yeon's involvement.

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20 JustMe

September 10, 2018 at 11:06 AM

The premise of this sounds so fun!

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21 redfox

September 10, 2018 at 11:06 AM

it´s like Pokemon Go with oppas

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Rukia wants melona

September 10, 2018 at 12:10 PM

Now I can't get that image out of my head!!!
XD

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22 jillian

September 10, 2018 at 11:44 AM

The story sounds interesting. Superhero powers makes me think of SWDBS. I wouldve loved to see JJH as the villain for some reason. But him as the hero works for me too since he gets to go up against KKW.

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23 astromantic

September 10, 2018 at 12:35 PM

will be the second drama from writer Jung Ido, who debuted with OCN’s adaptation of Rescue Me last year
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW GOD YES THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like I'm dreaming!!!

But then I woke up when I saw Jin Se-yeon's name... ah. LMAO.

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24 yayabean

September 10, 2018 at 2:24 PM

Kim Kang-woo as a baddie, is a must see!

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25 Mimi

September 10, 2018 at 3:28 PM

JJH yes, KKW yes and then JSY gosh i drop it already. She is so terrible actress.

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26 lemoncello

September 10, 2018 at 5:38 PM

Oh My Gooooodnessss... I'm so excited and looking forward to this one. I can't get enough of JJH in "Along with the Gods" :)

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27 Tilly

September 10, 2018 at 6:44 PM

Jin SE Yeon has just confirmed. Five fingers reunion in the making.

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28 HANI

September 10, 2018 at 7:32 PM

I am super excited hearing Joo Ji Hoon n Kim Kang Woo combo. Especially JJH has been killing it in chungmuro. But Jin SeYeon confirmation sure dampen a bit of that excitement tbh. Did anyone watched JSY last drama? Is she still doing that healing acting?

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Tilly

September 10, 2018 at 8:21 PM

She was the weakest link in her last drama too. It was excruciating to watch her. That was my first (and last I hope) experience of her acting. Gonna have to pass on this one - even though I really like the writer.

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HANI

September 11, 2018 at 5:33 AM

😐😐😐😐
Thought we can get some improvement...
Dang it. But I really looking forward to JJH new drama....

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29 songsong

September 10, 2018 at 7:53 PM

What a downgrade for JJH! From Bae Doona to Jin Se-yeon...

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30 Ek Ladhki Thi

September 12, 2018 at 1:57 PM

You had me at Joo Ji-hoon.

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31 Rukia wants melona

September 13, 2018 at 11:30 AM

I just looked at who will be in this.
This is my can't miss drama. Joo Ji-hoon melts into his roles and makes them captivating.
~~Jak-doo~~ Kim Kang-woo is another actor who steals scenes and my heart effortlessly.
I have no idea how this will work out, but I'm already impatient!!

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32 annnsow

September 13, 2018 at 8:14 PM

... Sign me in.

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