‘Parasyte: The Grey’, a new Netflix series by Yeon Sang-ho, reimagines Hitoshi Iwaaki’s comics in a gripping tale of humans and parasites, set for an April release.
The series, written by Yeon Sang-ho and Ryu Yong-jae, follows the story of a special unit named Team Grey that aims to stop parasitic organisms from using humans as hosts to expand their power.
The plot revolves around Su-in (played by Jeon So-nee), a human who becomes symbiotic with a parasite. Netflix has confirmed the release date of the series as Apr. 5, with unveiling the launch poster on Feb. 28.
The poster released this day depicts spores of unknown parasites falling from the sky. These spores infect humans, morphing into different forms, indicating the beginning of an ominous event.
In the poster, Su-in is portrayed with one side of her face distorted and parasite tentacles extending, raising curiosity about how she came to live symbiotically with a parasite and how to survive being transformed into a mutant that is neither human nor parasite.
The catchphrase, “Blend in perfectly among humans,” heightens anticipation for the story surrounding the situation that parasitic creatures infiltrated in South Korea and made it hard to distinguish who’s human and who’s parasitic.
Parasyte: The Grey is based on the Japanese comic ‘Parasyte’ by Hitoshi Iwaaki. The comic has sold over 25 million copies in more than 30 regions and countries with its creative storyline of parasites taking over human brains to control their bodies and philosophical message.
Parasite: The Gray is a new dimension of the creature genre from director Yeon Sang-ho, who created the ‘K-zombie’ craze around the world by reinterpreting Western zombies in a Korean context. The film was born from his imagination. He wondered what would happen if a parasitic creature invaded Korea, which became the backbone of the storyline.
The original creator of the story, Hitoshi Iwaaki, expressed his excitement about Yeon’s new series, saying, “Above all, I was thrilled by the fact that the series covers a new story. As the original creator, I am also one of the audience who cherish the series with surprise and anticipation. I imagined what would happen if Yeon’s new series were published in Japan.”
Iwaaki considers his works, which was born in a small room of his, as his child, and the works that are recreated by many people as his grandchildren.
In this context, he expressed his pleasure that his grandchild has been born in Korea this time. He believes that because it is a new story set in a different place, it will lead us to a world far beyond his imagination.
