Yeon Sang-ho addresses how his upcoming movie Gunche will differ from Train to Busan. 2016’s Train to Busan helped put Yeon on the map, introducing international audiences to his story of a zombie virus that takes over South Korea, threatening pᴀssengers who are on a train from Seoul to Busan. The film inspired a spiritual sequel, Peninsula, four years later. Though the two movies are based in the same universe, their plots are independent, making Peninsula a standalone sequel. Now, Yeon is in production on a new zombie film, Gunche.

In an interview with Screen Rant for his new film Revelations, Yeon discusses how Gunche is different from Train to Busan. Yeon explains that in both Train to Busan and Peninsula, “the space where everything happened” was the pinnacle of the story. As such, these films focused on “where the zombie virus started and spread.” However, in Gunche, “the zombie is of [their] utmost focus.” Check out the full quote from Yeon below:

Screen Rant: My favorite works of yours are Train to Busan and Peninsula. I know that Gunche was recently announced, so can you tell me anything about that movie and its role in your zombie universe?

Yeon Sang-ho: In my past zombie projects, what was really important was the space where everything happened, where the zombie virus started and spread. But in Gunche, the zombie is of our utmost focus. They have their own characteristics, so I think it’s going to truly be a new kind of zombie movie, for sure.

What This Means For Gunche

Gunche’s Plot May Focus On The Virus

Yeon’s latest zombie movie was first announced a few weeks ago. While its plot details have been kept largely under wraps, the film was described by its distributor as “the culmination of Yeon Sang-ho’s universe, spanning from Train to Busan to Peninsula.” This suggests that, in a similar vein to Peninsula, Gunche is set in the same world as the predecessors, though it might not necessarily be a direct follow-up. Yeon’s explanation of the movie suggests that Gunche, like Peninsula, will be a standalone sequel.

Yeon’s quote also gives some further context as to where Gunche will find its main drama. The English-language тιтle for the film has not been revealed, but the word “gunche” translates to biological colony. As such, it would make sense if Gunche focuses more heavily on the ins and outs of the virus and how it turns people into zombies. Focusing the lore like so would definitely situate “the zombie” as Gunche‘s “utmost focus” and give the virus-ridden beings “their own characteristics.”

Our Take On The Gunche News

This Departure Could Be A Welcome Change

Departing from the groundwork laid by Train to Busan and Peninsula is a risky but potentially fruitful decision. While Train to Busan received rave reviews, Peninsula‘s reception was a lot more mixed than the first film. By comparison, many people found the film to be less gripping than Train to Busan. By creating an entirely new type of zombie movie, Gunche can likely avoid some of these comparisons and be judged on its own terms. As a Yeon-directed zombie movie, the pressure is still high, but stepping out into its own thing could be a positive decision.