‘Train to Busan 2’ Release Date, News & Update: Is the Sequel Already in Production?

“Train to Busan 2” has long been awaited by millions of people after the previous film broke records and expectations following its worldwide success. With a budget of $8.5 million, the prequel managed to gain $83 million locally and $45 million globally, making it Korea’s highest grossing film in 2016, Movieweb reported.

Now, it seems that the sequel is currently in the works. Writer-director Yeon Sang-ho revealed he’s working on the script and expecting to start shooting the movie in 2019, placing the next film in the pre-production stage. Although little is known regarding the plot of “Train to Busan 2,” Yeon said that the sequel will be set on a far larger scale compared to its predecessor.

Indeed, the working title of the next film is “Bando” meaning “Peninsula.” This could mean that the virus has spread all over Korea and the undead horde is larger than ever. There are a lot of avenues to take in “Train to Busan 2” and one of them is the possible development for a cure. But they could also take an alternative route and take inspiration from “World War Z,” where Brad Pitt’s character discovers that a terminal host will not be targeted by those affected by the virus.

Of course, it shouldn’t be a direct imitation of the Hollywood film since it will likely produce a negative result. Instead, they could take it a bit further by creating a cure that is derived from a genetically engineered deadly pathogen that may already be readily available. The whole premise of “Train to Busan 2” could then have its characters hunt down someone capable of creating such a cure and find pathogens in abandoned labs.

And speaking of characters, Gong Yoo will not be the leading actor for the sequel given that his character died in the previous film. Song Joong Ki is reportedly stepping up to the plate in replacement of Gong. But this is all speculation at this point since Yeon is still finishing the script for the movie. As for the release date of “Train to Busan 2,” there’s still no news regarding this but if they indeed start filming in 2019, then the sequel could come out sometime in 2020.