INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

James Wan To Remake ‘Train To Busan’

By Ryan Mallett Outtrim
Published on: 03:51 PST, Sep 26, 2018

Horror fans everywhere, rejoice. Producer James Wan is teaming up with The Nun writer Gary Dauberman to remake the highly-acclaimed Korean zombie flick Train to Busan. That’s according to Deadline, which reported Tuesday at least five studios have been wrestling over the film. For now, it looks like New Line Cinema has emerged as the top contender in negotiations over the property. According to Collider, New Line is on the verge of closing the deal after a lengthy bidding war with Universal, Paramount, Lionsgate and Screen Gems.

Whichever studio secures the property, Wan appears locked-in. The Australian director/producer is perhaps best known for 2004’s Saw, 2011’s Insidious, and The Conjuring in 2016.

Deadline also reported that Dauberman has been tapped to write the script. The screenwriter previously worked on the 2017 It remake, along with the Annabelle films. It was widely praised by critics and audiences alike for its faithfully terrifying adaptation of the Stephen King classic. On the other hand, Dauberman’s latest project, The Nun, has received mixed reviews since hitting theaters earlier this month.

Dauberman and Wan have worked together in the past, including on the Conjuring franchise.

No director has been confirmed. Dauberman is rumored to be a possible candidate, though the film itself is likely still a long way off.

Likewise, no release date has been penciled in yet, and Wan himself is already busy with at least three other big projects. His upcoming Aquaman is slated for release in December, and last week Screen Rant reported Wan has quietly been working on a feature length adaptation of the successful 2018 short film, Milk. The bite-sized horror movie won the prestigious Midnight Shorts Jury Award at SXSW earlier this year with its creepy story of a boy losing touch with reality.

A remake of Train to Busan, however, will be no small feat. The Korean original racked in an estimated $85 million at the box office, and became a cultural phenomenon in Asia overnight.

The film takes place on a train bound for the Korean city of Busan — then, a passenger with a not-so-mysterious bite stumbles aboard. As the film progresses, the full scale of the zombie apocalypse dawns on the passengers, who find themselves on a tour of a zombie-infested nightmare.

The film was widely praised for its unrelenting tension, relying on atmosphere and breakneck pace.

The original’s thrill ride was accomplished with little reliance on gore, a rarity in the zombie sub-genre. The original is currently available on Netflix.

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