They’ve been talking about making a Tazza 2 for so long that I sort of forgot they didn’t already. The hit 2006 gambling movie — Tazza, sometimes called The High Rollers or The War of the Flowers — was based on a manhwa and already had a 2008 drama remake, and is now gearing up to do a sequel film for the fall. The production is reportedly courting Song Joong-ki (Nice Guy, Wolf Boy) to be the leading man, but who isn’t these days? Song is considering the role among other dramas and films, but his reps do say that a film is likeliest for his next project.
The original 2006 film was directed by Choi Dong-hoon (The Thieves, Jeon Woo-chi) and starred Jo Seung-woo in the title role as a hwatu card shark. The SBS drama version starred Jang Hyuk in the same role. The character is slick, cocky, and as daring as he is sharp. The sequel will be helmed by director Kang Hyung-chul, of Sunny and Speed Scandal. So the franchise is pretty much just passing from one box office kingpin to another, though tonally it seems like a departure for Kang.
With one drama remake already in existence, another movie seems like retreading old ground, but maybe the sequel will get a spin? This says nothing about Tazza vs. Tazza 2, but I do like Kang Hyung-chul’s movies better than Choi Dong-hoon’s, so there’s that. Song Joong-ki is closing in on his final year before army duty, so there’s some pressure to pick a good project. Until Nice Guy I wouldn’t have thought he’d be the guy to cast in a movie like this at all, but now I think he’d be great as a slick gambler. Perhaps we’ll see him play a card shark before the year is out?
Tazza 2 is planning for a September release.
Via Sports Hankook, OBS
