[Zoom In] After Ma Dong-seok, Park Seo-joon: Marvel Falls for Korean Actors

Ma Dong-seok as Gilgamesh in 'Eternals'
Park Seo-joon Cast in 'The Marvels'
Is Korean Content the Casting Stepping Stone?
Why the Continuous Love Calls?

Ma Dong-seok Park Seo-joon / Photo by Walt Disney Korea, Awesome ENT

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] Following actor Ma Dong-seok, Park Seo-joon becomes the 'Man of Marvel.' The background of their casting is intriguing. It was the director's 'pick' after discovering the actors through the movie 'Train to Busan' and the drama 'Itaewon Class.' In fact, there is a hidden intention of the famous American Marvel Studios to embrace the fairly large Korean market.

Ma Dong-seok plays Gilgamesh, who came to Earth 7,000 years ago, in the recently released Marvel new film 'Eternals' (directed by Chlo? Zhao) on the 3rd. He creates an exoskeleton with cosmic energy and defeats enemies with his bare fists. There are no weapons or shields. He mercilessly 'punishes' enemies using only his fists and palms.

Gilgamesh shares a special friendship with Thena, who has been with him for a long time, becoming both a protector and his most precious friend. Angelina Jolie plays the role of Thena. During the promotion process, Jolie openly expressed her affection for Ma Dong-seok. It is said that they developed a special friendship while working together.

His future activities are also highly anticipated. Ma Dong-seok joined Phase 4 through 'Eternals.' Marvel is a studio excellent at flexibly utilizing and varying characters within a well-structured universe, so it is highly likely that the attractive character Gilgamesh will be utilized in various ways.

Park Seo-joon recently returned to Korea through Incheon International Airport on the 2nd after filming 'The Marvels' in the UK. It has been about two months since he left on September 3rd. A representative of his agency stated, "He returned briefly for scheduled domestic schedules such as commercial shoots."

'The Marvels' recently filmed in London, UK. It is observed that Park Seo-joon participated in the production for two months, but the agency officially maintains a 'no comment' stance and is cautious.

A representative of Awesome ENT said, "We thank many people who show interest and support for Park Seo-joon's new challenge," and added, "Information related to the movie such as the title, character, filming location, and filming period will be announced later."

Typically, major Hollywood studios including Marvel Studios strictly require confidentiality regarding detailed contract clauses during production processes such as actor casting. Like Ma Dong-seok earlier, it seems difficult to make any remarks until Marvel's official announcement.

Photo by Disney

The sequel to 'Captain Marvel,' released in 2019, titled 'The Marvels,' is highly anticipated with actress Brie Larson reprising her role as Captain Marvel. Nia DaCosta, the director who directed the reboot of the movie 'Candyman,' showed interest by posting a photo of Park Seo-joon's 'Itaewon Class' on her social network service (SNS) last August. It is possible that she had him in mind early on.

Ma Dong-seok is similar. Recently, director Chlo? Zhao revealed that after watching the movie 'Train to Busan,' in which he appeared, she wanted to cast him in 'Eternals.' She was impressed by the scene where he fights off zombies with his bare fists in a narrow KTX train.

Regarding this, a film industry insider said, "In the past, Hollywood officials had difficulty accessing domestic content. It was an environment where it was not easy to watch through online video services (OTT) like now, and domestic works had low recognition," adding, "Now, most people know that K-content is excellent. The movie 'Parasite' and Netflix's 'Squid Game' achieved success overseas, raising recognition, and trust has been built through various domestic works presented on different platforms. This has created an atmosphere where many love calls are being made to actors and production staff."

The insider added, "Due to increased recognition and market changes, actors no longer need to create audition videos for overseas and knock on Hollywood studios' doors. In the digital age where entry barriers have disappeared, well-made K-content and talented actors are being recognized."

Why does Marvel love Korean actors? An overseas film industry official said, "Recently, the global film industry has formed an atmosphere that respects diversity. Now, Marvel works do not feature only white heroes. 'Eternals' is composed of multinational actors," adding, "The Korean film market is the most important in Asia. The revenue generated based on a solid fandom is considerable, and the response is enthusiastic. It naturally draws attention first to domestic content and actors with high recognition and status," he hinted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.