According to Korean media, actor Lee Jong Suk suddenly canceled his participation in the movie "See You Again" on the online platform (OTT) Netflix just 1 day before the script reading in May 2018.
In this movie, Lee Jong Suk is expected to star alongside Kim Ji Won, who worked with him in the sitcom "High Kick". The audience has high expectations for their reunion after 7 years.
But a staff member of the film crew announced on the online community: "Lee Jong Suk said that he will not act in the movie the night before the script reading."
Lee Jong Suk's representative then countered: "Indeed, it is one of the works that our actors are considering. However, no contract has been signed yet."
In the end, production of “See You Again” was canceled, with Netflix closing the case and saying: “We have no connection whatsoever.”
At that time, people in the industry discussed: "Will Lee Jong Suk appearing on Netflix be difficult for a while?".
Coincidentally, in the 6 years since 2018, Lee Jong Suk has not appeared in any Netflix original works . Only two rare works "The Hymn of Death" by SBS (November 2018) and "Romance is a Bonus Book" by tvN (January 2019) were also released in parallel through Netflix, but other than that, to date he has no other connection to the foundation.
After being discharged from the army, Lee Jong Suk continuously appeared in the MBC drama "Big Mouth" and the movie "Decibel" (2022), but for more than 2 years he still has not decided on his next work.
“Big Mouth” also went through many ups and downs. The film was originally expected to air on tvN and be released simultaneously on Netflix. However, it eventually moved to broadcast on MBC and OTT received distribution as Disney+.
It was said that at the time, Netflix rejected “Big Mouth” so there was no other choice but to go to Disney+.
In the context of MBC dramas having poor performance, “ Big Mouth ” surpassed the rating of 13% and became popular overseas through Disney+. That year, Lee Jong Suk also won the Daesang (grand prize) of the MBC Drama Awards.
In April this year, it was reported that Lee Jong Suk was planning to participate in the Disney+ movie "1 Second" (working title). But later, Lee Jong Suk's representative said he refused to participate in the work.
Lee Jong Suk is one of the most popular Korean actors abroad. With a series of hit movies such as "The Secret Garden" (2010), "School 2013" (2012), "Psychic Ears" (2013), "Pinocchio" (2014), "When She Sleeps" (2017 ), “Big Mouth" (2022)...
But an official said: “Lee Jong Suk tends to engage in a lot of “tug of war” before putting pen to paper on the final contract. That will certainly cause difficulties for production and broadcasting companies."
This person further explained that the preference for OTT has increased compared to terrestrial and cable TV channels, but commercial success is not completely guaranteed.
Many movies from Netflix, Disney+, Coupang Play and Tving are still underperforming. Therefore, platforms are more careful in choosing their next plan.
