Considered South Korea’s first big-budget action film set in space, Space Sweepers is set for release on Netflix after a Covid-19 enforced delay.
The Movie
Originally scheduled for release in Korea during the summer blockbuster movie season, the movie’s release date was pushed forward to September as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The release date would still have been unknown even now, because cinemas in Korea are still out of commission, but Netflix intervened and bought the worldwide streaming rights to the movie. The film will officially launch on Netflix on February 5.
Described as South Korea’s first big-budget action epic to be set in space, the events of the movie follow the adventures of the occupants of the spaceship Victory. The spaceship itself is only one of many vessels surviving on scavenged space debris in the year 2092. Starring in the movie are popular K-drama names such as Song Joong-Ki who plays the ship’s genius space pilot, Kim Tae-Ri who is a mysterious ex-pirate, Jin Sun-Kyu who portrays a spaceship engineer and Yoo Hai-jin as the reprogramed military robot Bubs.
The crew of the spaceship Victory successfully snatched a crashed space shuttle on one of their debris runs, only to discover a 7-year-old girl hiding inside. When they realize that the ostensibly human female child is actually a robot wanted by UTS space guards, they decide to trade her in for ransom.
Producers
The show was produced by Merry Christmas, a South Korean film company. It also sourced additional financing from China’s Huayi Tencent Entertainment, with visual effects provided by Seoul-based Dexter Studios.
Meanwhile, Netflix has revealed that they have spent approximately $700 million on Korean movies and TV series in just the past five years, a reflection of Korea’s growing global cultural influence. The streamer has also signed leases on two production facilities outside of Seoul.