Lulu Wang to Direct English-Language Adaptation of Kore-eda’s ‘Like Father, Like Son’

Kate Erbland
·3 min read

“The Farewell” filmmaker Lulu Wang has reportedly added another major product to her growing slate. Observer reports that Wang has been tapped to direct an English-language remake of the beloved Hirokazu Kore-eda film “Like Father, Like Son” for Focus Features. A source close to Focus confirms the news, and that it is currently in early development stages at the studio. Playwright Sarah Ruhl has been attached to write the screenplay and Wang will produce alongside Josh McLaughlin under his Wink Productions banner.

Kore-eda’s 2013 feature debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won both the Jury Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention. Sundance Selects released the dramedy in the U.S., which examines two very different families who discover that their six-year-old sons were switched at birth. Kore-eda’s film starred Fukuyama Masaharu, Ono Machiko, Maki Yoko, and Lily Franky, and was produced by Kameyama Chihiro, Hatanaka Tatsuro, and Tom Yoda.

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There’s no word on how, or even if, Wang’s film will further alter the story, which is ripe for all sorts of reimaginings and reinterpretations (perhaps set in the states? maybe featuring switched at birth daughters?). Still, it’s a strong fit for the rising star.

Wang’s last film “The Farewell” opened in summer 2019 from A24, making a strong impression at the indie box office and picking up many accolades along the awards season path, including Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, a BAFTA Film Award, a Golden Globe Award Best Actress win for Awkwafina, and a spot on the AFI top 10 films of the year, among many critics’ year-end lists. This fictional retelling of her own family’s efforts to keep their matriarch’s cancer diagnosis a secret is her second feature after 2014’s “Posthumous.”

Next up for Wang is the drama series “The Expatriates” with Nicole Kidman and Amazon, on which Wang will serve as a writer, executive producer, and director. She’s also working on a secretive other new film, currently titled “Children of the New World,” adapted from Alexander Weinstein’s bestselling short story collection by the same name. Each story is set in a near-future society.

Observer notes that “an English-language remake of ‘Like Father, Like Son’ was previously set up at DreamWorks in 2014 with ‘American Pie’s Paul and Christopher Weitz set to direct. That project ultimately did not move forward.”

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