Hope: Na Hong-jin’s wild sci-fi thriller lands soon

With the 2026 summer movie season approaching its 23 September finish, one of the year’s most unusual blockbusters is preparing to arrive. South Korean director Na Hong-jin’s Hope combines science fiction, horror and action in a story that begins in a remote village before expanding into something far more ambitious.

The film is scheduled for an American theatrical release on 9 September. Australian viewers will need to check local cinema listings for release details, but the film has already attracted attention after positive early reactions at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

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What is Hope about?

The story takes place in rural South Korea, in and around Hope Harbor, a small settlement near the North Korean border. A mysterious creature has appeared in the area while a wildfire keeps much of the local police force occupied.

Bum-seok, played by Hwang Jung-min, and Sung-ae, played by Hoyeon of Squid Game, are among the few officers available to investigate. With no immediate backup, they must work out what is happening as a group of local hunters also pursues the creature.

The film’s Cannes synopsis describes a chain reaction in which initial ignorance leads to disaster, human conflict intensifies the situation, and the result reaches “cosmic proportions”.

The cast also includes Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Taylor Russell from Bones and All, and Cameron Britton from Mindhunter.

Why the film may divide audiences

The trailers present Hope as a large-scale action picture, including an image of Sung-ae firing a rifle at aliens from a car window. However, the film reportedly changes direction during its second half, particularly when its non-Korean characters enter the story.

That structural turn is central to the discussion around the film, making detailed reviews difficult to describe without revealing major plot information. Early critical response has therefore been cautious, and the film’s eventual reception could prove sharply divided. At the time of publication, Hope holds a 76 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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A major international step for Na Hong-jin

Hope is Na Hong-jin’s fourth feature as both writer and director, following The Chaser, The Yellow Sea and The Wailing. The project represents his largest apparent move towards mainstream international filmmaking.

It competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2026, where Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord won the award. The film also arrives during a period of increased international interest in South Korean cinema, following decades of strong local production and the wider global impact of Parasite in 2019.

Whatever viewers make of its genre shift, Hope is positioned as an unusually bold science-fiction release: part rural mystery, part alien thriller and part human tragedy.