Hope Director & Star Detail Alien Universe & Cast Chemistry

The Korean action-adventure film Hope arrives in U.S. Theaters following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie marks director Na Hong-jin's return a decade after 2016's The Wailing and stars Hwang Jung-min as a police chief confronting an alien threat.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Na and star Hoyeon explained the film's expansive universe and production challenges. The story follows the residents of Hope Harbor, including Hoyeon's sniper character Sung-ae, as they face off against aliens portrayed by actors like Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.

Balancing Comedy And Tragedy

Director Na Hong-jin emphasized the careful balance between different tones in the film. He stated he went through many trials and errors during post-production, extending and cutting scenes to find the right timing.

Star Hoyeon recalled her first reaction to the screenplay. "When I read the screenplay, the first thing I said to Director Na was, 'Is it alright for me so be laughing when all this tragedy is happening?'" she told ScreenRant. She praised Na for maintaining the gore from his previous films while adding a major comical twist, calling him a man of many surprises.

Cast Chemistry And Action Challenges

Na revealed that Hwang Jung-min was his first choice for the lead role after finishing the script. Hwang then recommended Hoyeon for her part. Hoyeon described their instant on-set chemistry, joking that both being born in the Year of the Dog in the Korean zodiac explained their connection. She said they would look in the same direction simultaneously without planning it.

For Hoyeon, the action sequences presented a significant challenge as it was her first action project. She underwent six months of training for gunfire and driving. However, she realized on set she hadn't considered performing these actions in relation to camera angles and eyelines. She found freedom in immersing herself in the well-defined world Na created, focusing solely on reacting to her circumstances.

Creating The Alien Characters

Na explained the casting process for the alien roles. He was already working with Alicia Vikander on another project and told her about Hope's story as the first part of a larger narrative. After she came on board, they cast Michael Fassbender. Na said finding good actors who could perform faithfully was more important than their cultural background, though he thought foreigners might have an easier time pronouncing the alien language.

The director chose to show the aliens clearly in daytime scenes rather than obscuring them with darkness. He explained that Hope uses aliens as a tool to tell a story about beings with a sad backstory, making the conveyance of their emotions important. The biggest difficulty was not being able to direct the actors' emotions in person during the CGI-heavy scenes.

Crafting the alien language involved extensive meetings with linguistic scholars. Na sought their advice on what feeling the language should convey and learned about ancient languages during the process.