There are no movies immune to the constant churn of content requirements, and according to a new report from scooper DanielRPK, a true landmark movie is seemingly set to get a completely unnecessary follow-up over 20 years after the original delivered a brutal action thriller that was not for the squeamish.
According to the report, a sequel to Park Chan-wook’s 2003 revenge saga Oldboy is in early development, and the reaction from fans has not exactly been positive. If Daniel RPK (aka Daniel Richtman) is correct, then Oldboy 2 is already in the pre-production stage, and many fans have demanded that this needs to be stopped and everyone must “protect the original at all costs.”
This is probably not a surprising reaction for a movie that holds a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and ended in a way that did not leave anyone thinking, “I wonder when the sequel will be out?” The gut-punch final act – which also turned a few stomachs in the process – was one of those endings that makes or breaks a film. For Oldboy, it made it, and now fans don’t want to see it undone.
Why Are So Many People Against An ‘Oldboy’ Sequel?
If a very talented cast and crew cannot recapture the magic of the original South Korean film, which was based loosely on the manga of the same name, then it seems that there is little to suggest that a belated sequel to the 2003 movie could fare any better. Add in the fact that Oldboy is considered one of the greatest movies of all time, having appeared in several all time lists, including appearing at number 64 in Empire’s Top 500 list, and trying to capture lightning in the bottle again is just asking for trouble.
The movie celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023. This is something that could have sparked the idea of a follow-up among some within the industry, especially given the swathe of legacy sequels that, for better or worse, have flooded cinemas and streaming platforms in the last several years.
For now, news of Oldboy 2 remains on the rumor side of things. Based on the reaction this has gained, it seems that perhaps that would be the best place for it to stay. However, if there is just one movie executive that believes a sequel could pull in paying crowds, then nothing will stop it becoming a reality.