'Drug' Yoo Ah-in Chosen by Jang Jae-hyun.. Focus on the Decision of the 'Million-Director' [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Yoo Ah-in, whose probation was finalized after being transferred to trial on charges of habitual drug use, is set to resume his acting activities in earnest with director Jang Jae-hyun's new film 'Vampire'.

According to NEW on the 18th, the movie 'Vampire' (directed by Jang Jae-hyun) has completed its casting lineup and will begin principal photography this month. 'Vampire' is a mystery occult film that tells the story of an unidentified hitman tracking a mysterious cult group at the request of a priest. Director Jang Jae-hyun, who has successively achieved box office hits with 'The Priests', 'Sabaha', and 'Exorcism', will direct the film.

Yoo Ah-in plays the role of a hitman chasing a cult group. He is expected to portray a character who remains calm in any situation but gradually changes as he encounters unidentified entities.

Yoo Ah-in was indicted for allegedly habitually administering medical propofol and other substances 181 times over approximately one year and six months from September 2020 under the guise of sleep anesthesia for cosmetic procedures at hospitals in Seoul. From May 2021 to August 2023, he illegally obtained and purchased more than 1,100 tablets of two types of sleeping pills under other people's names on 44 occasions. In January 2024, he also faced charges of smoking marijuana in the United States with a person named Choi and inciting others to smoke.

Yoo Ah-in was sentenced to one year in prison and detained in court following the first-instance verdict in September 2024. He was later released after his sentence was reduced to one year in prison with two years of probation at the second instance in February, and the Supreme Court has confirmed the original verdict.

Yoo Ah-in announced his return to commercial films three years after being under a suspended sentence that had not yet expired. However, contrary to the descriptor "return after three years," his face did not completely disappear from the public eye. During the trial, works in which Yoo Ah-in had completed filming were released one after another in 2024 and 2025.

First, the Netflix series 'Fool of the Apocalypse' was released last year. While Yoo Ah-in's name and character descriptions were excluded from the work's promotion and marketing process, it was impossible to edit out all of his scenes in the film.

The film 'Haifa Eve', which was released last year, had completed filming in 2021 and prepared for release, but its schedule was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of Yoo Ah-in's drug use allegations.

Director Kang Hyung-cheol stated ahead of the release, "It is a regrettable thing. It would have been better if it hadn't happened," while adding, "As a director and person in charge, I had the conviction to work hard on post-production to complete the film with the shining performances of the actors." He further explained regarding Yoo Ah-in's scenes that "we hardly touched them from an editing perspective."

The film 'Match' also took a direct hit due to the drug use controversy surrounding lead actor Yoo Ah-in. Originally preparing for release on Netflix, the work had its release schedule delayed for a long period and eventually met audiences through theatrical release.

Of course, it is difficult to view this as Yoo Ah-in continuing his acting activities throughout the trial period. 'Fool of the Apocalypse', 'Match', and 'Haifa Eve' are all works that were completed before the drug use controversy erupted.

Furthermore, each work contains not only Yoo Ah-in's time and effort but also those of numerous actors and production staff. In fact, director Kang Hyung-cheol of 'Haifa Eve' emphasized, "It is not just one film; many people dedicated a part of their lives to working hard on it." Since it was difficult to discard works that had already been completed solely due to one actor's controversy, the evaluation of the work itself was ultimately left to the audience.

However, 'Vampire' is different in nature. It is not a question of whether to release a work that has already been filmed; rather, it marks a signal for Yoo Ah-in to resume his acting activities after undergoing drug controversies and trials by participating in new filming. In particular, since he announced his return while still within the probation period, negative views on this matter continue to follow.

In particular, as the next work of director Jang Jae-hyun, who mobilized ten million viewers with 'Exorcism', the impact is even greater. The decision to choose Yoo Ah-in as the new lead has now become part of the evaluation surrounding the work. 'Vampire' must also bear the burden of public scrutiny regarding his return.

Meanwhile, 'Vampire' is scheduled for release in 2028.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.