Han Ye-seul A Possibility For Twilight Sequel?

Dec 08, 2009

It is being reported (strategically leaked?) that Han Ye-seul, who is currently acting in the new SBS melodrama series Will It Snow For Christmas?, recently took a secret meeting with Mark Morgan, CEO of Imprint Entertainment, the production company behind Twilight and New Moon.
Naturally, this has given rise to speculation that Han Ye-seul’s
Hollywood debut may come in the third film of the Twilight saga, Eclipse.

News of the meeting was confirmed by a source related to the “Phone
Hollywood remake project,” which is also under Imprint’s purview. Han
quietly met with Morgan and film producer Michael Becker on December 5
at an undisclosed location in Seoul. (They were in the country to
announce the Phone remake at a press conference on the 3rd.)

I’d take the possibility of a Twilight appearance with a huge grain of salt — I think it’s more likely she’d be cast for Phone — but apparently it’s not out of the question. The source avoided the direct question of Han’s casting potential for Eclipse,
but when Chosun Ilbo’s reporter asked whether one could “take an
optimistic outlook” about it, the answer was “Yes.” Meanwhile, Phone’s
director had said at the recent press conference that he’d like to cast
a Korean actress. The horror remake will use a Korean crew and
director, but plans to cast American actors.

In general, this isn’t surprising news, since Han has been keeping
an eye out for Hollywood opportunities since last year. I think her
acting ranges from merely passable (Tazza) to bright and cute (Fantasy Couple, Miss Gold Digger),
and on the whole it’s much improved from her early days. Furthermore,
she’s one of few Korean actresses whose English is fluent without an
accent and she grew up in California, so unlike some other stars
attempting the crossover, language isn’t an issue. Language fluency
also opens the door for her to take on roles outside the role of the
stereotypical Asian Other — e.g., the ubiquitous assassin or martial
artist a la Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Byung-heon, or Rain.