Star-studded ‘The Match’ skips theaters, goes straight to Netflix

December 16, 2022

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) — “The Match,” a highly anticipated Korean film about professional Go players, will skip theaters and go straight to Netflix for global release, the streaming service said Friday.

The movie is based on a true story of two legendary Go players — Cho Hoon-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) and his protege and future rival Lee Chang-ho (Yoo Ah-in).

Kim Hyung-ju, behind comic crime action “The Sheriff in Town” (2017), took helm of the movie and finished shooting in April 2021, but its theatrical release has been delayed amid the pandemic.

Netflix said the movie will be streamed exclusively on its platform without providing details of its release schedule.

The film has drawn attention with the first acting ensemble between Lee and Yoo, both of whom have a large fan base.

Lee has starred in numerous hit Korean movies as well as Hollywood films, such as the “G.I. Joe” series, and appeared in Netflix sensation “Squid Game” (2021).

“The Match” will be Yoo’s third Netflix project after the dystopian horror series “Hellbound” (2021) and adventure action film “Seoul Vibe” streamed in August.