Lee Jin Wook, Jung Yong Hwa, and Kim Ji Seok in Talks for tvN’s Three Musketeers
Looks like this Summer will bring back some sageuks to K-dramas after taking a short breather from the genre. There’s Joseon Gunman on KBS, Records of a Night Watchman on MBC, and now tvN is joining in as it preps Three Musketeers for August. What got me intrigued by Three Musketeers is the behind-the-scenes talent with the scriptwriter who did Queen In Hyun’s Man and Nine: Nine Time Travels doing her first full sageuk outing. The story appears to be a straightforward adaptation of the classic French Three Musketeers story but transplanted to Joseon. A poor young man of noble birth aims to join the royal military forces. His journey becomes intertwined with the King’s and his three renowned royal guards. Officially in talks to play the three male leads are Lee Jin Wook, Jung Yong Hwa, and Kim Ji Seok. Of the three leads in question, only Kim Ji Seok has sageuk experience and it was quite a memorable outing at that playing one of Jang Hyuk‘s slave hunter buddies in Chuno. He hasn’t done a sageuk since, and is currently in the SBS weekend drama Angel Eyes, but I would love to see him back in sageuk territory.
I’m not surprised to hear Lee Jin Wook courted for this drama since he worked with the scriptwriter as the lead in Nine. Having not seen him in a sageuk before, I can’t say whether his acting is ready to tackle a genre that calls for intensity and restraint in perfect balance. I’m still burned by Jung Yong Hwa’s last drama the craptastic Marry Him if You Dare, and even if he improved slightly from previous attempts at acting in Heartstrings and You’re Beautiful, it was hard pressed to enjoy his emoting improvement when he was playing one of the worst male characters who is not an outright villain. If he accepts Three Musketeers and keeps on improving while playing a great male lead, it’ll go a long ways to erasing the ugh taste from my mouth when I think of him in a drama. The three male leads are all currently in discussion (some reports claim Lee Jin Wook and Jung Yong Hwa have signed while Kim Ji Seok is still considering) but the casting will need to be finalized soon since the drama heads into production in June.
Another reason to be interested is the arrangement of the drama – it’s being split into three seasons with 12-episodes apiece per season, with each season taking on a specific narrative arc in the story, and all three seasons combined will create the entire drama. Sounds neat to me.
omg i like the cast already… please all three sign sign, 🙂
I concur, all 3 are quite delicious.
Yonghwa in a sageuk ? Why wud any writer want that…sheesh! I don’t like him as an actor. Just don’t.
Well the broadcast channels like him a lot.
despite his average acting,he has good rapport in the industry and someone that’s feasible to work with.
so there’s always offers to act
By joining a good drama team like this, I sincerely hope his acting skills will be improve to better as it seems that he won’t give up on acting
no, FNC and TvN are under CJ E&M, so it s understandable that YongHwa will take part in it.
Just a friendly FYI~ Song Jae Jung, the brilliant scriptwriter, is a woman! If Kim Ji Seok does sign on, I reaaally want to see him get a girl this time. I read that this is gonna be filmed in China~ does anyone know why?
I agree. Let him get the girl, please!!
Haven’t watch Lee Jin Wook before but I fond Jung Yong Hwa ok in MHIYD… not really his failt that his character there was badly written, though he didn’t elevate beyond the crap role.
I like Kim Ji Seok, he always is a good second male lead whether the role is villainous or not.
I hope Kim Ji Seok accepts the role. Both him and Lee Jin Wook are bromance in real life!
These 3 leads being Athos, Porthos & Aramis, who would be D’Artagnan then?
I think Yong Hwa is D’Artangan.. Jin Wook as Athos and Ji Seok as Aramis… Porthos is not really a major charactor though he is best buddy with leader Athos and Aramis..
omaigod … welcome back writer-nim . .I’ll definitely watch your work 🙂
and the hunk Lee Jin Wook is back
Thanks for the news. I wondered who all would make up the trio.
Do you think PYH can do the saguek delivery? I guess if they give him lines he can deliver in a stilted manner – like Mickey for both SKKS and RP, he can sound old-fashioned enough.
Actually, not understanding Korean gives viewers like me an advantage in enjoying these shows. It is difficult to perceive who is good and who is bad at saguek. I heard MCW stumbled a little out of the gate in Princess Man, but improved.
I’m so excited for this drama! I love The Three Musketeers! The BBC version hits all my favorite things (hot men, kick-ass women, pretty costumes) so I have high hopes for this version.
I hope Yonghwa is cast as D’artagnan and not any of the musketeers. At least with D’artagnan, I could believe he was young and inexperienced. He’s not a good enough actor to be either Athos, Porthos or Aramis. I loved Nine and Queen Inhyun’s Man so the creative talent behind this is intriguing.
That’s exactly the role he was offered, Park Dalhyang who is supposed to be the equivalent of D’Artagnan^^
Now its a thrice in a row for Lee Jin Wook acting in tVn drama….
So Jung YongHwa did confirm the drama already? Okey, now let me read about Three Musketeers then so I have an idea what type of drama and story my bias will be into.. (but there still something lingering in my mind though, YongHwa in sageuk?) Anyways, Go For it Yong, WE WILL SUPPORT YOU!!!!!
There’s a rumor that yonghwa was not part of it, and it makes me feel bad. I really miss to see him acting. I hope he will make it, we will always support you yonghwa! Fighting!
kkyyaaa…
im so excited for it. i really miss Yonghwa in drama..>_< . i'll always support you Yonghwa!! hwaiting Jung Yonghwa..
I have watched almost all major shows that Yong Hwa is in, and I love his acting. I don’t think much could have been done with his character in MHIYD, and he was amazing in both Heartstrings and You’re Beautiful. Unfortunately, I am still trying to learn Korean, so I may not have noticed his bad-acting. Either way, he’s great to look at, and I will definitely watch anything he’s in.