Hope (2026 film)
2026 film by Na Hong-jin
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Hope (Korean: 호프) is a 2026 South Korean epic science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Na Hong-jin. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender. The film centers on a village police chief and his rookie deputy who must defend his local community from a mysterious creature after wildfires sever all communications, while a local hunting party finds itself being hunted deep in the mountains.[1]
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| Hope | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 호프 |
| RR | Hopeu |
| MR | Hop'ŭ |
| Directed by | Na Hong-jin |
| Written by | Na Hong-jin |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo |
| Edited by | Kim Sun-min |
| Music by | Michael Abels |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Plus M Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 160 minutes[1] |
| Country | South Korea |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $46 million[2] |
The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 17, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It received positive reviews, with special praise for Na's direction in action sequences, but was criticised for its VFX work.
Distributed by Plus M Entertainment, it is scheduled to be released theatrically in South Korea on July 15, 2026.
Premise
Reinforcements have been diverted to battle wildfires and all communication has been cut off. Hope’s police outpost chief Bum-seok and officer Sung-ae struggle to defend a village of the elderly, while in the mountains, Sung-ki and the locals who set out to track the beast find themselves hunted instead. What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.[3]
Cast
- Hwang Jung-min as Bum-seok,[1] the police chief
- Zo In-sung as Sung-ki,[1] a headstrong local who tracks a dangerous creature
- Jung Ho-yeon as Sung-ae,[1] a rookie cop
- Taylor Russell as Ai'dovor[1]
- Cameron Britton as Va'migere[1]
- Alicia Vikander as J'aur[1]
- Michael Fassbender as Ma'veyyo[1]
- Um Tae-goo
- Lee Kyu-hyung
Production
Development
Writer and director Na Hong-jin was reportedly originally collaborating on the project with Alfonso Cuarón. It is Na Hong-jin's first since The Wailing in 2016.[4] He has described how the film developed from an idea he had in 2017 or 2018 of a single image that came to him whilst eating in a restaurant.[5] It is produced by Forged Films with Plus M Entertainment distributing internationally and UTA Independent Film Group and Plus M distributing in North America. Cinematography is by Hong Kyung-pyo who also collaborated on The Wailing.[6] The budget for the film was reportedly higher than any previous Korean film.[7]
Casting
The main cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, as well as Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender, who do not speak Korean in the film.[8][9] It marks the first on-screen collaboration for real-life married couple Vikander and Fassbender since the 2016 film The Light Between Oceans.[6] In April 2023, Taylor Russell and Cameron Britton joined the main cast.[10][11] In May 2023, Um Tae-goo and Lee Kyu-hyung were also cast in the film.[12]
Filming
Principal photography took place in 2023 in Bukpyeong-myeon. Filming locations included Namchang in Haenam County.[13][14] Filming also took place in Romania in the area around the Retezat Mountains.[15] A sequence shot with natural daylight involving a horse riding through a forest was filmed in Retezat National Park.[16] Vikander and Russell had completed their filming block by July 2024.[17]
Release
Hope had its world premiere at the main competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2026,[1] marking the first South Korean film to compete for the Palme d'Or since Decision to Leave (2022). The selection makes it the fourth film by director Na Hong-jin to be screened at the festival, following The Chaser (2008) in Midnight Screenings, The Yellow Sea (2011) in Un Certain Regard section, and The Wailing (2016) in the Out of Competition section.[18]
Hope is slated for a July 15, 2026 release in South Korea.[19] Neon scheduled its theatrical release in the United States for September 9,[20] and also acquired distribution rights for other English-speaking territories.[21][22] In May 2026, Mubi acquired distribution rights in Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Turkey.[23] Later that month, it was reported that Hope had pre-sold to 200 territories worldwide; among the buyers disclosed were Focus Features, which bought rights for France, the Benelux and South Africa, as well as Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, which acquired the film for Portugal, Scandinavia, Iceland, the Middle East and Israel.[24]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 39 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[25]
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[26]
Nicholas Barber from BBC gave the movie four out of five stars.[27]
Accolades
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 2026 | Palme d'Or | Na Hong-jin | Nominated | [28] |
| New York Asian Film Festival | 2026 | Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema | Na Hong-Jin | Won | [29] |
