“Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.” Nobody asked for Oldboy 2, but it’s rumored to be in development. If it goes ahead, there’s one impeccable scene that exemplifies the key to nailing a sequel to Park Chan-wook’s masterpiece.
It’s hard to overstate the impact Oldboy has had on modern cinema. Released in 2003 as the second of Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, this hyper-stylized tale of revenge is one Hollywood has been trying to mimic for decades.
Critics will say it’s an action thriller, but the real ones know it’s a psychological horror, one that delivers the most devastating twist ending of the 21st century. And now, according to industry insider DanielRPK, “An Oldboy 2 is in development. As in a sequel to the original Korean film.”
Yes, the movie is a sequel itself, and yes, Spike Lee revisited the story in his lazy 2013 English-language remake. But even though no one asked for it, there is a way to make a sequel work – and it starts by understanding what made the original so unforgettable.
Oldboy’s octopus scene holds the secret to a worthy sequel
Any follow-up will need to match Oldboy’s brutal authenticity, both physically and emotionally, and nothing symbolizes this more than the movie’s iconic octopus scene.
It begins when Oh Dae-su, freshly released from 15 years of imprisonment, enters a sushi restaurant and orders an octopus. He then eats it… alive. This wasn’t a clever bit of CGI or sleight-of-hand prosthetics. Actor Choi Min-sik actually ate a live octopus. Four of them, to be exact – one per take.
The actor had to overcome multiple challenges while shooting this scene, the first being the taste. In a behind-the-scenes feature included on the Oldboy DVD, Min-sik, Chan-wook, and the crew can be seen deliberating how to move forward, eventually adding salt to try and make it more appetizing – but this only made it worse.
Then there’s the fact that he’s a Buddhist, therefore a vegetarian. A clip shows him saying a prayer before tucking into the octopus, while another sees him holding it up to his eye level and saying, “I am sorry.”
Their efforts paid off: the result is a visceral, unforgettable moment, one that perfectly marks the start of Oh Dae-su’s gut-wrenching vengeance journey. It’s not shock for shock’s sake, but a dedicated, almost ritualistic commitment to authenticity.
A sequel can’t simply rely on modern VFX or empty spectacle. It needs to get under the viewer’s skin the same way Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy – which includes Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance – does.
These films aren’t connected narratively, but they share a thematic DNA: suffering as sacrifice, violence as poetry, and characters who are broken in ways that feel bone-deep. That’s the cinematic world Oldboy 2 must enter if it doesn’t want to suffer the same fate as Lee’s remake.
The 2013 Oldboy failed precisely because it lacked this secret sauce. Instead of delivering a fresh spin on the original’s daring spirit, it tried to Hollywood-ify it. The violence was stylized but not personal, the tone was confused, and worst of all, it played it safe. That’s not what Oldboy is, nor should it ever be.
Can you still make a movie like the OG in 2025? Absolutely. Just look at Julia Ducournau’s Titane, or Lars von Trier’s The House That Jack Built. These films don’t flinch; they challenge, they disturb, and they do it with purpose.
If Oldboy 2 is to work – and that’s a massive if – it needs to return to this commitment. It needs an actor willing to experience torment, a director who doesn’t care about “commercial”, and scenes that leave people nauseated not because they’re gross, but because they’re real.
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