‘Hope’ Lands September UK Release After Korean Box Office Success

Na Hong-jin is trading the rural dread of The Wailing for something far bigger in Hope, an ambitious sci-fi action thriller that begins with a mysterious creature in a remote South Korean village and escalates towards catastrophe on a cosmic scale. Following its Cannes Competition premiere and a strong start at the Korean box office, the film will arrive in UK and Irish cinemas later this month.

Set in the isolated community of Hope Harbor, the story follows police chief Bum-seok, played by Hwang Jung-min, and officer Sung-ae, played by HoYeon, as they investigate the aftermath of a violent encounter with an unidentified creature.

At the same time, a group of hunters led by Sung-ki, played by Zo In-sung, head into the surrounding forest in pursuit of the beast, only to find the roles rapidly reversed. As the situation deteriorates, the film expands beyond creature-feature territory into a much broader story about fear, misunderstanding and human conflict.

Na directs a cast that brings together major Korean talent and a sizeable international contingent. Alongside Hwang, HoYeon and Zo, the film stars Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.

For Na, Hope marks another major genre project after The Chaser, The Yellow Sea and The Wailing, films that established the filmmaker through a combination of crime, horror and increasingly expansive psychological tension. His latest has been designed on a considerably larger scale, with NEON planning screenings across Premium Large Formats to make use of the film’s spectacle.

The release follows a busy festival run. After competing at Cannes, Hope screened at the New York Asian Film Festival, where Na received the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Filmmaking. The film is also heading to Toronto International Film Festival as part of its Midnight Madness selection.

It has already found an audience in South Korea, where it opened at number one and became the country’s third biggest release of the year at the time of NEON’s announcement.

UK audiences also got an early look in August, when Hope received its UK premiere in IMAX at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. For the rest of us, Hope will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland by NEON on 25 September 2026.

Hope trailer