Luce writer JC Lee is set to make his directorial debut with Bad Genius, an English-language remake of the 2017 hit Thai film Chalard Games Goeng, and has secured Benedict Wong, Jabari Banks, and Callina Liang for the lead roles.
Lee will reteam with Luce filmmaker Julius Onah to pen the script for Bad Genius, with their adaptation being described as “a high-stakes, high-octane thriller” about a diverse group of young people who team up to fight the system of injustice and inequity and take down the rigged academic institutions around them.
The original film was written and directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya and debuted at No. 1 at the Thai box office, quickly becoming the country’s highest-grossing Thai film of the year and, ultimately, the most internationally successful Thai film ever.
Lee said in a statement: “I am so excited to share a new take on what was already a wildly successful and remarkable film. I can’t wait to work with this fantastic, innovative group of artists, drawing on our diverse array of real world experiences to make a film as thrilling and fun as the original.”
Bad Genius has already secured a number of international distribution partners outside of the U.S., and it’s easy to see why a film about young people fighting back against the corrupt institutions that surround them seems like a good bet at the box office.
Lee’s other credits include The Morning Show, How to Get Away with Murder, and Looking. Wong was last seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and recently lent his voice to Netflix animated film The Magician’s Elephant.
Banks is best known for playing Will in Bel-Air, the reimagined drama version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which airs on Peacock. Liang’s only role to date is in British series Tell Me Everything.
Bad Genius will begin production in May.
#Peace.Love.BadGenius
