Parasite, which won four Oscars on Sunday, is being remade by HBO as a miniseries. Why? Well, it might seem pointless given how accomplished the film is already, but this deal was made when the class-focused thriller was considered less of a shoo-in on the awards circuit. Excitingly, director Bong Joon Ho is actually working on the series with producer and director Adam McKay.
Now, reports suggests Mark Ruffalo is being eyed for a lead role in the series, as first reported by Collider and later noted by Deadline.
TMZ then asked Ruffalo about potentially starring in the HBO remake when he was arriving at LAX. "I'd be honored to be able to play something in that," he said. It's noted by both reports, though, that full casting hasn't begun, and a lot could change before we find out who's starring in the series.
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HBO's Parasite show is not going to be a straight remake of the movie, instead using additional material to bulk out the story.
"When I think of a limited series, I really think of it as an expanded film," Bong Joon Ho told Variety. "Like Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander, you have a three-hour theatrical version and a three-hour TV version. So my goal is to create a high quality expanded version of Parasite."
The director cited the quality of HBO's Succession as an incentive to work with McKay, who also directed The Big Short, Vice, and Anchorman.
"Adam McKay and HBO did very well with Succession, to work with these artists who have created great works I would like to actualize this attempt to expand this film and explore all the ideas that I've had from the script writing stage from what could happen in between the scenes through the TV series," he said.
Parasite remake: bad idea?
Don't expect a trashy remake of the movie, here. HBO makes great TV – and the choice of McKay as a collaborator is deliberate. He's a satirist, and if Parasite on HBO ends up attacking the US class divide, that's an interesting differentiating factor from the original.
While it's true there's no real need for a remake to exist, you don't necessarily need to fear the worst.
Parasite is in cinemas now worldwide.
