Yorgos Lanthimos is to direct a remake of the South Korean film Save the Green Planet

Yorgos Lanthimos is to direct a remake of the South Korean film ‘Save the Green Planet’.

The ‘Poor Things’ filmmaker is set to begin shooting the fantasy comedy movie in the UK and New York this summer with Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe at Element Pictures serving as producers.

The project appears to be the ideal movie for Lanthimos because it is a black comedy that tells the story of a disillusioned young man who captures and tortures a businessman who he is convinced is part of an alien invasion.

A battle of wits takes place between the captor, his devoted girlfriend, the businessman and a private detective.

The original South Korean movie was released in 2003 and directed by Jang Joon-hwan. It became a festival favourite around the world – winning prizes in Bucheon, Buenos Aires and Brussels – and earned Jang the Golden Bell Award for best new director in Korea that year.

‘Poor Things’ has earned critical acclaim and won five prizes at the BAFTA Film Awards at the weekend although Yorgos recently explained that he wanted to be known for more than just absurdist pictures.

Speaking at an interview organised by the British Film Institute (BFI) last month, the Greek director said: “It’s always not the most pleasant thing to just be boxed into one thing. I guess there is some kind of absurdity in the films, but I hope they’re more complex than that.

“I understand why people have the need to describe it a certain way or make sense of it by using language. But the thing is, the trouble is language is not always sufficient for any kind of work of art.”