Netflix has once again adapted a best-selling manga into a live-action. This time, it will take the story of Hitoshi Iwaaki’s Parasyte onto the small screen following the success of One Piece and YuYu Hakusho. After being announced in August 2022, the streamer has finally given the first look for Parasyte: The Grey, featuring Jeon So-nee as Jeong Su-in, who falls victim to the parasite, and she looks every inch frightening.
Netflix just announced its slate of K-drama series and movies this year. Among the many titles that fans should look forward to is Parasite: The Grey, which follows the story of Shinichi Izumi, who manages to resist a parasitic organism’s attempt to take over his brain and only affects his arm.
Though the service only drops one still for the new series, it’s enough to excite fans to see Iwaaki’s masterpiece play out on TV. It shows So-nee seemingly surrounded by police officers, all geared up to avoid being infiltrated by the parasite. With all the lights focused on So-nee, who looks in a daze while being stopped by the officers, something unexpected may happen here.
You can see the preview below:
Who are the cast and staff of Parasyte: The Grey?
So far, Netflix has only announced three cast members for Parasyte: The Grey. For their roles and character descriptions, you can check the list below:
Jeon So-nee as Jeong Su-in – A victim of the parasite that fails to take over her brain but manages to co-exist with her.
Koo Kyo-hwan as Seol Kang-woo – A man who tracks down the parasite to find his missing sister.
Lee Jung-hyun as Choi Jun-kyung – The leader of a task force fighting the parasites called Team Grey and devotes herself to the victims after losing her husband to these parasitic life-forms.
Behind the scenes, the new series is directed and co-written by Yeon Sang-ho, who’s also behind the success of Train to Busan, Peninsula, and Hellbound. Ryo Yong-jae is also the co-writer, best known for his works in Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area.
What is Parasyte: The Grey about?
Set in Korea, Parasyte: The Grey will show the parasites that will try to take over the human brains to live and grow their powers. But as they come with the threat to destroy humanity, a war is about to ensue.
You can read the synopsis below:
Parasitic life-forms that live off of human hosts strive to grow their power and disrupt society. A group of humans wage war against the rising evil.
The live-action is based on the horror manga of the same name written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. It was serialized in Kodansha’s Morning Open Zokan in 1989 and Monthly Afternoon from 1989 to 1994. Tokyopop first published it in English in North America, then Del Rey and Kodansha later. With its success, it had over 25 million copies in circulation as of August 2022, making it one of the best-selling manga of all time.
The series was then adapted into two live-action films in Japan in 2014 and 2015, while Madhouse adapted it into anime, titled Parasyte -the maxim-, and was released in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015. It was aired in the U.S. with an English dub on Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block between October 2015 and April 2016.
Parasyte: The Grey is scheduled for release in the second quarter. With the success of Iwaaki’s manga and the anticipation of this new live-action series, it’s a must-see if this will be on par with Netflix’s other live-action shows and horror K-drama series, like Sweet Home.
