Will Netflix’s “Black Knight” starring Kim Woo Bin & Song Seung Heon be loved as much as its original webtoon?
The director and actors of Netflix's series "Black Knight" talked about their new work ahead of its release.
On the morning of May 10th, the press conference for Netflix’s drama “Black Knight” was held at Provoke Seoul, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Kim Woo Bin, Song Seung Heon, Kang Yoo Seok, Esom and director Cho Ui Seok attended the event.
Set in the future Korean Peninsula where people cannot live without oxygen respirators due to extreme air pollution, “Black Knight” tells about legendary delivery driver 5-8 and refugee boy Sa Wol facing the Cheonmyeong Group who controls the world. The drama is based on a webtoon of the same name and directed by Cho Ui Seok, who has gained recognition for his directing skills through “Make It Big” and “Master”.
Regarding his first drama challenge, director Cho Ui Seok said, “I really liked the worldview of the original webtoon, so I talked to the author and they gladly gave me the permission to write an interesting drama based on it”, adding “This series has 6 episodes, but I felt like spending the energy enough to make two movies on it. It was my first time challenging directing a drama and it was fun to create the plot and action for each episode. The result will be judged by the viewers but I think the actors had done amazing acting performances.” He continued, “Some people say the drama gives the same vibe as ‘Mad Max’ but it actually tells a different story.”
Regarding his character – deliveryman 5-8, Kim Woo Bin said, “When I read the script, I thought this kind of scenario might happen in the future, and I became more curious about the story, especially the character 5-8”, adding “I enjoyed working with director Cho Ui Seok in the movie ‘Master’ before so I had faith in him”, showing his strong friendship with the director.
Song Seung Heon also talked about his character Ryu Seok, the only heir to the Cheonmyung Group. He said, “To some extent, Ryu Seok may be a villain, but you will realize his beliefs and reasons for the things he does after watching the drama. Ryu Seok has his own goals and intentions. I acted while thinking that he’s not a bad guy”. The actor continued, “When the director said he was planning ‘Black Knight’, I showed my interest in its worldview and expressed my willingness to join the project. I also trust Director Cho because I’ve been friends with him for 20 years.”
Kang Yoo Seok, who plays refugee boy Yoon Sa Wol, shared, “When I read the script, I was very curious about how the sci-fi element would be portrayed. Since it is also mixed with the action genre, I thought this work would be really fun.”
Taking on the role of military officer Seol Ah, Esom said, “From the first time I read the script, I already found the description of deliverymen interesting. Although the original webtoon was already very popular, I was still curious to see how Director Jo would unfold the story through this drama”, adding “I practiced a lot to play action scenes in this work”
Kim Woo Bin and Esom, who used to work together as models before turning to acting, reunited for the first time in 12 years since KBS’s drama “White Christmas” (2011). Esom shared, “When I heard Woo Bin would join this project, I really looked forward to working with him again. We wore masks on our first shoot, and he looked very cool. But he didn’t seem to be as happy as me”. In response, Kim Woo Bin said, “I gave lots of signs that I was glad to meet her again, but Esom didn’t show any expression. We talked about our past memories during breaks and I realized that both of us have lived well.”
Regarding the highlights of “Black Knight”, Kang Yoo Seok pointed out, “Every character has their own charms”, while Kim Woo Bin emphasized, “You will be able to see new sides that Kang Yoo Seok, Song Seung Heon, and Esom have never shown before”. Song Seung Heon added, “You should focus on the intense conflicts between the characters”. Esom gave a hint, saying “Strong female characters will add strength to the solid storyline”, raising fans’ expectations.
Lastly, director Cho mentioned the message that he wanted to convey through “Black Knight”, saying “I want everyone to live an equal and happy life.”
“Black Knight” will premiere on Netflix on May 12th.
Source: Wikitree
