Has anybody heard about this movie Parasite? It’s a scathing indictment of capitalism and the corrupting power of wealth in general, as well as a helpful reminder to check the weather reports before deciding to take your family camping (you never know what’ll be happening at your house while you’re away). Also, it just won Best Picture at the Oscars last night, making it the first international film to ever do that in the ceremony’s 92-year history. Earlier this month, we learned that HBO was developing some kind of Parasite TV show with Adam McKay and director (make that Best Director) Bong Joon Ho.
Now, with a potential Parasite TV show looking like an even better deal for HBO, Collider is reporting that “multiple sources” say the premium cabler wants Mark Ruffalo to play one of the leads in the show. Collider is very careful to say that it’s not a done deal with Ruffalo, but it seems very confident that he is at least being strongly considered. This also ties in with the fact that we don’t really know much about the Parasite TV show, with Bong Joon Ho only teasing that it would give him a chance to tell some stories he didn’t have room for in the movie—which is to say, it’s not necessarily a straight adaptation. If Ruffalo really ends up being in the show, he might not end up playing a direct analog to one of the characters in the movie (even though he does have powerful Mr. Kim energy, which is not a reference to any “old radish” smell that Ruffalo may or may not have).
We also know that the Parasite TV show, if it happens (which seems much more likely now), is a long ways off. By the time it gets made, maybe Mark Ruffalo will have a distinct old radish smell, and maybe the wealth-obsessed culture that the movie was criticizing will have been completely dismantled.