Korean American Director Takes Over to Rewrite, Lead Live-Acton ‘Your Name’

September 21, 2020

Korean American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung is set to write and direct a live-action adaptation of the hit Japanese anime film “Your Name (

Taking over: Chung, the acclaimed director of 2007’s “Munyurangabo” and this year’s “Minari,” is replacing Marc Webb, who was previously tasked to helm the project.

Chung, a son of Korean immigrants, comes from a rural Arkansas town and attended Yale University before dropping plans for medical school to pursue filmmaking.
His debut film “Munyurangabo” premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prize at the 2007 AFI Fest.
In his review of “Munyurangabo,” renowned critic Roger Ebert said the film is “in every frame a beautiful and powerful film — a masterpiece.”
Meanwhile, Minari premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, winning both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize as well as the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award.

Reimagination: The new film will be a live-action re-imagining of the romantic fantasy anime about a high school boy from Tokyo and a high school girl from a rural town who become magically linked and swap bodies.

The reimagined version takes several elements from the original film, including the two teenagers swapping bodies and a looming disaster that would bring them together.
“Your Name” was a massive hit when it was released in Japan in 2016 and the rest of the world the following year, grossing over $350 million worldwide.
Filmmaker J.J. Abrams (Bad Robot) is said to be a big fan of the original film and immediately worked towards acquiring the rights for it.
The script for the remake, which replaces the Japanese main characters with a “young Native American woman living in a rural area and a young man from Chicago,” was originally written by “Arrival” screenwriter Eric Heisserer.
Chung will rewrite the version of the script drafted by Emily V. Gordon.
Abrams will co-produce the film with Genki Kawamura, who produced the original.
Toho will distribute the upcoming film in Japan, while Paramount will be responsible for other territories.

Feature Image (left) via Krysalide Diffusion, (right) All the anime

Share this Article