In an interview with Korean media, Hwang Dong Hyuk shared that initially, the production team held auditions to cast an actor for the role of Thanos.
While conceiving the character, he revealed that he watched "Show Me the Money", thinking: "I felt like this character definitely had to be exaggerated".
When auditioning for the role, the director added: "We were planning to cast a younger actor, but we couldn't find the right person. We even considered Swings, but there were significant concerns about whether he could act."
Hwang continued, "Choi Seung Hyun (T.O.P) was also on the casting list, but he hasn't been active for a long time. On top of that, since the character is somewhat similar to him, we thought he might see it as self-mockery and naturally wouldn't want to do it (i.e. T.O.P was involved in a drug case, while the character in the film also used drugs).
We decided to ask him if he would consider auditioning, and after a long wait, he replied. He said he would audition."
Regarding the eventual casting of T.O.P, the director added, "He read the script in front of me and I saw potential."
However, this casting choice has caused mixed reactions online, with many netizens saying that they "would watch the show if it was Swings instead of T.O.P." Some speculated that Swings could bring a fresher perspective to the character and that the role might be more suitable for him.
