It has been more than two months since Descendants of the Sun concluded and it is still one of the most discussed K-dramas of 2016. Starring Song Joong Ki ( Tree With Deep Roots , The Innocent Man ) and Song Hye Kyo ( Autumn in My Heart , Full House ), the K-drama aired from February 24 to April 22 of this year. Within that span of two months, Descendants of the Sun dominated its time slot and set records not seen in K-dramas for the longest time . By its conclusion, Descendants of the Sun recorded an average among both viewership ratings of about 29 percent for the Seoul National Capital Region and 27 percent for the nation. As a matter of fact, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) thanked the viewers for such high ratings with a three-part special which included an epilogue of the series.
Descendants of the Sundid so much for KBS, but probably more so for Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo. The K-drama actors who played the lead characters are still in high demand from China to Taiwan. Pertaining to the former, Descendants of the Sunfans received even more fan servicebecause they were only expecting Joong Ki but also got Hye Kyo, too.
Now it seems Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo might reprise the roles that made them extremely popular this year. There are now reports that there will be a Descendants of the Sun movie and Joong Ki and Hye Kyo may return as Captain Yoo Si Jin and Doctor Kang Mo Yeon respectively.
The movie adaptation of Descendants of the Sun is already in production, as reported by Korea Herald. According to their report, Huace Film & TV, a production company in China, bought the rights to produce the film. As for the director, the monumental task will fall on Zhang Yibai who is well known in Asian film for directing Fleet of Time.
“We are under enormous pressure since the original drama hit it off by casting two very attractive stars. We won’t rely on the reputation of the original drama but use it as a foundation to build a wholly new movie. We’d like to make a better one.”
One of the directions the Descendants of the Sun movie adaptation could follow is to concentrate on a more logical plot. Despite the K-drama’s popularity, it did follow the K-drama formula of focusing on a romantic relationship. Song Joong Ki recognized these criticisms during an interview with Asia One.
“I know that there are a lot of opinions out there, some good and some bad. But I’m glad that the show has been talked about a lot. I’m grateful for all kinds of feedback and I respect them all. The show belongs to the viewers once it’s made. I’ve made plans to grab soju with writer Kim sometime soon, so I’ll talk about it with her then. I don’t want to overstep my part in assessing the show.”
Nevertheless, Zhang Yibai might get Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo to reprise their roles for the Descendants of the Sun movie adaptation. And if he doesn’t, whoever is chosen to take the place of the Song-Song couple have an extremely difficult time recreating the chemistry the original actors made, as reported by Asia Times . It is possible that the movie may go a different direction and concentrate more on plot over the romance, though, which is a double-edged sword for Yibai if he wants the film to transcend the drama. He is damned if he does because the Song-Song couple shippers will criticize, and he is damned if he doesn’t because those who want a better plot will feel ignored yet again. Ultimately, the movie adaptation of Descendants of the Sun has a tall task, and getting Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo may help cushion the pressure.
Descendants of the Sun , the K-drama, can be viewed in its entirety for free, with ads, on both DramaFever and Viki . As for the movie, since it is still in the beginning stages of production, there is no word of a release date as of yet.
[Image via Screen Capture of Descendants of the Sun ]