Parasyte Live-Action: New Visual Display Thrilling Venture; All We Know So Far

Parasyte: The Grey which is set to premiere on Netflix on April 5, 2024, is based on Hitoshi Iwaaki's Japanese manga series. The series features renowned Korean actors and a new story.

Published on Feb 29, 2024  |  02:30 PM IST |  153.8K
Everything We Know About The Parasyte Live-Action: New Visual Display Thrilling Venture
Parasyte Live-Action: New Visual Display Thrilling Venture (PC: IMDb)

The Korean Parasyte live-action series, Parasyte: The Grey, is set to premiere on Netflix on April 5, 2024. The series is based on Hitoshi Iwaaki's Japanese manga series, which was serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine from 1990 to 1995. The series has also had a TV anime adaptation and two live-action movies. The upcoming series will feature renowned Korean actors and a new story. A new key visual for the main character has been unveiled.

Exploring what the live-action Parasyte series is about 

The Korean drama Parasyte: The Grey, based on Hitoshi Iwaaki's horror-thriller manga, is set to premiere on Netflix on April 5, 2024, as announced by the K-drama's official staff on February 28, 2024.

The Korean Parasyte live-action series will release weekly episodes until June 2024, with any unexpected delays or schedule changes to be announced by staff. A new visual has been unveiled, featuring an unidentifiable parasite transforming the body of the main character, Jeong Su-in, played by Jeon So-Nee.


Other than the main heroine, Jeong Su-in, more characters are seen in the background. As evident, those characters are also invaded by the terrifying beings known as parasites. The visual also contains a catchphrase, which reads as follows when translated into English, "It's next to you."

Parasyte: The Grey live-action series features Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, and Lee Jung-hyun. Jeon portrays Jeong Su-in, who coexists with a parasite after it fails to enter her brain, and Koo Kyo-hwan portrays Seol Kang-woo, a character who seeks his missing younger sister by pursuing parasites.

Advertisement

Lee Jung-hyun leads The Grey, a task force aimed at eliminating alien beings, whose leader's husband was killed by parasites. Netflix has also cast Kwon Hae-hyo and Kim In-kwon, but their roles have not been revealed yet.

Yeon Sang-ho is directing a live-action series based on Hitoshi Iwaaki's original manga. The series follows a world where Parasites invade Earth to take over humans. One Parasite, Migi, takes over Shinichi Izumi's right arm, leading to an unusual co-existence between the two. The series also features scripts by Ryu Yong-jae. Yeon Sang-ho has gained critical acclaim for his work on Train to Busan and Peninsula.

What is the Parasyte manga about?

Parasyte is a Japanese science fiction horror manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. It was published in Kodansha's Morning Open Zōkan (1989) and Monthly Afternoon (1989 to 1994).

The manga was published in North America first by Tokyopop, then Del Rey, and finally Kodansha USA. The series follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school senior who is the victim of a failed attempt by a parasitic organism to take over his brain. The parasite instead infects and takes over his arm.

Advertisement

The manga has been adapted into two live-action films in Japan and an anime television series by Madhouse. The English-language dub aired on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in the United States. By August 2022, the manga had over 25 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 1993, Parasyte won the 17th Kodansha Manga Award and the 27th Seiun Award for the best manga.

Parasyte centres around a 17-year-old boy named Shinichi Izumi, who lives in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. One night, Parasites arrive on Earth, taking over his brains through their ears or noses. One Parasite tries to crawl into Shinichi's nose, but fails. Instead, it burrows into his arm. In the Japanese version, it takes over Shinichi's right hand and is named Migi, after the Japanese word for "right."

Because Shinichi was able to prevent Migi from traveling further up into his brain, both beings retain their separate intellects and personalities. As the duo encounters other Parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive.

Advertisement

This gives them an edge in battling other Parasites who frequently attack the pair upon realization that Shinichi's human brain is still intact. Shinichi feels compelled to fight other Parasites, who devour other members of the species they infect as food, while enlisting Migi's help.

The manga delves into philosophical and psychological questions about humanity, its relationship with the environment, instinct, love, and morality. Through Shinichi's encounter with Migi, he questions if humanity has moral superiority over Parasites, while Migi and Reiko Tamura adopt human traits like love and sacrifice.

ALSO READ: Parasyte: The Grey starring Koo Kyo Hwan, Jeon So Nee and Lee Jung Hyun confirms release on April 5

Pinkvilla Pulse
Subscribe to our newsletter for entertainment exclusives, star interviews, and the latest lifestyle trends. Look No Further!
Subscribe
About The Author

With a Masters in English, Barsha is a movie buff and a K-pop stan who is fascinated by the

...

Advertisement

Latest Articles