Transformers 2 will get some home-grown competition in South Korea when Shin Cine unleashes Robot Taekwon V. According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer William Teitler (Zathrua: A Space Adventure, The Polar Express, Jumanji) has come on board to exec produce the live-action sequel to South Korea’s first animated feature. The original Robot Taekwon V debuted in 1976 and was released in the U.S. as Voltar the Invincible.
Like Michael Bay’s Transformers, Robot Taekwon V will combine live actors with CG-animation and effects provided by a consortium of Korean VFX companies, including macrograph, mofac, Insight Visual, DTI (Digital Tetra Inc.) and EON Digital Films. But unlike the Hollywood blockbuster, this giant robot flick is being made for a mere $20 million. Won Shin-yeon (A Bloody Aria) is directing and Shin Chul and Robot Taekwon V Co. are producing.
Set 32 years after the events of the first film, Robot Taekewon V revisits the boy character Kim Hoon, who is now a down-trodden businessman in a bad marriage. Things begin to turn around for him when he is reunited with a 184-foot-tall fighting robot. The story is based on a five-volume comic book series published in April.
The film is slated for release in the summer of 2010. Though the Korean-language production is being financed entirely in Korea, the producers are making the flick with the international market in mind. The filmmakers are no doubt inspired by the global reach of such recent Korean genre hits as The Host, which has been successful on DVD in North America, and Dragon Wars, which enjoyed a wide U.S. theatrical release.
