Skip to main content

Spike Lee adds Samuel L. Jackson to Oldboy remake

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Depending on your personal feelings toward Spike Lee’s English-language remake of Chan-Wook Park’s cult classic revenge flick Oldboy, the following news will either be phenomenal, or will only lightly dent your cynical rejection of any auteur’s attempts to one-up Park. Either way, Samuel L. Jackson is now a part of the movie’s cast.

The LA Times reports:

Recommended Videos

Jackson has come on board for a small but critical part in the new film, according to a person close to the production who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. The actor will play the man who is being tortured by the hero (Brolin) in a key revenge scene.

Fans of the original will remember the scene as perhaps the most visceral and disturbing of the film. Protagonist Dae-su Oh exacts vengeance on a man who once guarded him by extracting his teeth one-by-one with the claw end of a hammer.

The LA Times has a good point: It’s hard to forget that scene, yet the report then goes on to state that Spike Lee’s version won’t feature the forced dental work. “The new film, which begins shooting this fall in Louisiana and New York, won’t go with the tooth removal, instead inflicting a different kind of torture (we won’t spoil it here, but it’s plenty painful).” Given the numerous ways to torture a person we have to assume that there is something out there as painful as having one’s teeth plucked out with a claw hammer, but honestly we’re having trouble imagining what that might be. Thoughts on how Mr. Jackson might meet his end in the Americanized Oldboy?

Alongside word that Samuel L. Jackson has joined the Oldboy cast, the Times also points out that the film has enlisted the talents of Bruce Hornsby to compose the film’s score. Hornsby has worked with Lee on a number of projects in the past including “basketball documentary Kobe Doin’ Work and the auteur’s new Red Hook Summer,” so his addition isn’t that surprising, though it is odd to hear Hornsby claim that his score wouldn’t necessarily be dark.

“I’m working on a few things and I’ll send them to Spike soon,” he said. “The ‘D’ word has been spoken to me by him,” the musician added, referring to a dark tone. “But I think the score will also run the gamut.”

If any of you who have seen the original, 2003, Korean version of Oldboy can imagine it with a score that is anything other than dark, you’ve got a better imagination than we do. Without spoiling the film’s plot — if you haven’t seen it, please rectify that immediately; it’s fantastic and currently available on Netflix — we can safely say that it deals with some very dark, disturbing themes and while it doesn’t wallow in its characters’ depravity, it is a very dark film. Unless Spike Lee is changing huge swaths of the movie to match his artistic vision, a score that is anything other than “dark” doesn’t make much sense.

Yes, we’ve still got our fingers crossed that Lee isn’t making massive changes to the existing Oldboy plot. Call it wishful thinking.

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
3 action movies on Netflix you need to watch in July 2025
Tom Cruise drives a motorcycle in Rogue Nation.

Action remains one of the more popular genres on Netflix. One of our picks for July, The Old Guard 2, is currently one of the 10 most popular movies on the service. Fans of Gerard Butler will be happy to see that Plane, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, and London Has Fallen are all available to stream.

It's hard to go wrong with action on Netflix. At worst, you'll find a mediocre 100-minute thriller with some good action that passes the time. Thankfully, the three movies below all have redeeming qualities to make them worthy of a stream. 

Read more
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 gets a visual upgrade but stays wonderfully familiar
THPS 3 + 4

The year was 2001, and I was flat on my back in the middle of the street after bailing hard from a failed ollie.

Once I dusted myself off, I decided to try again, but in a safer, more digital aspect. Two decades ago, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 devoured my free time, and now the remake is back and doing the exact same thing. An excellent remake, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 brings two classic titles to a modern audience but adds little to the original experience in a way that leaves the game feeling curiously anachronistic.

Read more
Superman review: DC is back and better than ever!
Superman review: The Man of Steel soars to new heights
Superman readies to fight in Superman.

The new DC Universe made its theatrical debut with the release of James Gunn's Superman. Set three years after he revealed himself to the world as Superman, the film follows Clark Kent (David Corenswet) when he struggles to face threats at home and abroad and come to terms with his Kryptonian heritage, all while Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) tries to turn the public against him with a global conspiracy.

Starting right in the middle of the action, Superman kicks off the DCU with a thrilling blockbuster adventure filled with action, humor, heart, and life. It is easy to forgive the excessive expositional dialogue when the film delivers an exciting and thought-provoking tale that stays true to the comics while putting a new spin on the Man of Steel.

Read more