Rebel Wilson to write and produce K-pop comedy Seoul Girls, prompting Twitter backlash

'well there's no way this could go wrong'
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Megan C. Hills20 November 2019

The world of K-pop has exploded onto the international scene with the likes of BTS and Blackpink dominating charts and stealing hearts - and it appears that Hollywood is taking notice. A comedy revolving around the genre titled Seoul Girls has been announced, with Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson set to write and produce the project for Lionsgate.

The news was announced by Deadline yesterday, who revealed the project revolves around a Korean American high school girl and her friends who join forces to win a talent competition. Throughout the film, the aspiring group is mentored by a former K-pop trainee and British girl group member in the hopes of becoming the opening act for a popular Koren boyband.

The script was revised by Young Il Kim, who has previously written for television series Billions.

Getty Images

The news has been met with backlash on Twitter, with some questioning why the Australian actress was involved with the project. One user asked, “WHY is Rebel Wilson writing a movie about a Korean American girl who becomes a kpop idol?”

They continued, “Follow up question: how culturally insensitive are we predicting this movie will be? Rebel Wilson - the fresh, new Korean voice that I want to see helming these types of projects!!!”

Another wrote, “I love you sis but it is a NO.”

One commented, "well there's no way this could go wrong."

Some compared the situation to the casting controversies around Wilson's Jojo Rabbit co-star Scarlett Johansson, who previously starred as Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, a film based on a popular Japanese cult anime. Johansson also previously said that she “should be able to play any person, tree or animal” in an interview with As/If this summer, in response to backlash about her playing a person of colour.

A user claimed that Wilson was “taking a page out of the scarjo playbook”. Another wrote, “scarlett johansson is a tree and now rebel wilson is a shrub.”

Another jokingly asked if Johansson was "already attached" to feature in Wilson's film.

It is not known at this time whether Rebel Wilson will star in Seoul Girls. The Cats star's project is not the only K-pop oriented project to attract attention recently. According to Entertainment Weekly, former K-pop star Jessica Jung of Girls Generation will have her debut novel Shine (based on her personal experiences) developed for the screen by the team behind the Netflix hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Jung’s novel is set to be published next autumn and will revolve around a Korean-American teenager in training to become a K-pop star; drawing links to San Francisco-born Jung’s career.

Jessica Jung
Getty Images

She said, “With Shine, I wanted to tell a big, fun, escapist story that also examines in-depth, behind- the-scenes aspects of the K-pop world. My goal was to tell a transparent, candid story — in a way that sometimes fiction does best.”

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