James Wan's Passion Project 'The Last Train to New York' Spin-Off Has Links To ‘Train to Busan'
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly via an interview, Wan explains that the movie is not a remake, but rather a separate story set at the exact same time as the Korean original. 'Creatively, it takes place in the same world as Train to Busan ,' the filmmaker explains. 'It's happening epidemically around the world. So if Train to Busan is this particular slice of the story in South Korea, we want Train to New York to be the one set in America.' Train to Busan (2016)
Despite his comments, the movie has been slow-moving, with Warner Bros. delaying it indefinitely by removing the film from its planned release calendar entirely. Still, Wan explains that the film is 'definitely still a passion project of ours.'
'Everything about it is really exciting.' he added, 'I hope that could get off the ground eventually. Got to be honest with you, I'm not quite sure where it sits right now.'
The original Train to Busan debuted in 2016 and was directed by Yeon Sang-ho ( Peninsula, Hellbound ). The film centred on Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), who boards a train to Busan with his estranged daughter to visit his ex-wife, only to get trapped within when a zombie outbreak erupts.
The English-language remake rights for the film were acquired by French film company Gaumont in 2016, with Wan's Atomic Monster production house coming aboard the project alongside New Line Cinema and Coin Operated, with Warner Bros. distributing. The Last Train to New York was initially planned to release in April 2023, with Timo Tjahjanto ( May the Devil Take You ) in talks to direct and Gary Dauberman ( Annabelle ) adapting its screenplay. The project was subsequently removed from Warner Bros.' calendar line-up in 2022, replaced by Evil Dead Rise .
For now, it remains to be seen how The Last Train to New York will develop, with Wan busy with other projects. 'I'm developing two or three projects right now and for me to direct eventually,' he added. 'So some of them are still too early to even talk about, but I'm definitely cooking away at things and just taking the time right now to cook away on them. I think it's important to have the luxury and the time to focus on the script and get things right before I dive into anything.'
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. James Wan The Last Train to New York Train to Busan
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