[INTERVIEW] 'Alienoid: The Return to the Future' director, actor Kim Tae-ri feel extra attached to film (2025)

By Lee Gyu-lee

The star-studded action blockbuster “Alienoid” is finally debuting its second part, “Alienoid: The Return to the Future,” on Jan. 10 with a hope to offset the disappointing score of the first series, released in 2022.

The film series’ director, Choi Dong-hoon, who helmed hit flicks “Tazza: The High Rollers” (2006) and “The Thieves” (2012), and its lead actor Kim Tae-ri shared their optimism for the upcoming sequel, expressing the series holds a special place in their hearts.

“I’ve been a filmmaker for about 20 years now. With ‘Tazza,’ I learned happiness in filming a movie, and with ‘The Thieves,’ I worked on it thinking it was a cool movie … With this film, I went through many twists and turns; it was challenging and left me many scars. But after finishing up the post-production, I felt this film was the most lovely piece (of my career),” director Choi said in an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Jongno District, Seoul, Friday.

"Usually, I can detach myself quite easily after completing a project, but this film has been different. Even though I've been working on it for six years, I sense it will take a longer time for me to truly let go of it. My heart is drawn to it.”

The two-part film revolves around an android named Guard (Kim Woo-bin) from 2022 who captures escaped alien criminals. When a time portal opens, Guard and a human girl, Lee Ahn (Kim Tae-ri), cross paths with Taoist magicians from the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom and they fight over a legendary divine sword.

The new sequel picks up on Lee Ahn who has been living in the Goryeo era for 10 years on the quest to find the legendary sword to stop a disaster and save humanity. Meanwhile, Taoist wizard Mureuk (Ryu Jun-yeol), who has been helping Lee Ahn through her adventure, starts to feel a mysterious being inside him.

“(This new movie) wraps up all the frustrations and concludes with a satisfying resolution, making you smile in the end … It was a special experience. We filmed parts 1 and 2 simultaneously in the same production process. Watching the movie we shot three years ago in the theater, I found myself enjoying it from an audience's perspective. I was satisfied,” the lead actor Kim shared her satisfaction on the outcome of the years-long project.

“In part 2, the puzzles from part 1 are resolved one by one, along with unexpected twists. Most importantly, each character comes together and creates harmony, which makes a quite enjoyable flow … My earnest hope is that more people will watch this movie.”

Kim also noted that she tried to focus on her character's human aspects beyond heroic boldness in the sequel.

“In part 1, Lee is portrayed as a cool and courageous character because she’s lived her life with exceptionally high physical abilities and intellectual prowess, like a superhero,” she said. “She’s awesome but I don’t want her to be merely awesome. I wanted to clearly portray the whimsical, careless, hesitative and lonely side of her. I tried to find those points, in discussions with Choi.”

Choi spent a total of six years on the film series from its inception to completion, with 387 days of filming and prolonged post-production for the second part. Following the modest ticket sales of 1.54 million for the first installment, the director felt huge pressure on the sequel, leading him to invest the past year and a half in editing and refining part 2.

“Part 1 was about 'fascination,’ focusing on how to make it look fascinating, whereas part 2 is about 'immersion’ … After working on editing, I would come home and watch the edited version again, deceiving myself as if I’m watching it for the first time. And if I find anything that feels unfilled or redundant, I go back to make further adjustments,” Choi said, adding the process reminded him why he fell in love with filmmaking.

“(After part 1’s release), I felt 'Do I have the strength to do part 2?' because there was no guarantee that it would turn out well … But strangely, as I kept editing and refining the work, I once again realized the reason I make movies is because I find it enjoyable and love doing it. In a way, part 2 is a work that saved me.”