Actors Park Eun-bin, Cha Eun-woo, Choi Dae-hoon, and Lim Seong-jae are redefining the Korean hero genre — and the internet can’t stop talking about the striking homages to legendary films woven throughout the show.
The full season of the Netflix series The WONDERfools, released on May 15, is packed with playful nods any die-hard hero or adventure fan will spot in an instant.
The WONDERfools follows a quartet of lovable neighborhood misfits who accidentally gain superpowers and defend the fictional city of Haeseong from villains threatening its peace. Imperfect yet irresistibly quirky, each character brings their own charm, hooking viewers from the start.
Director Yoo In-sik opened up about the homages in an interview. “Because the story is about underdogs becoming heroes and saving the universe, I loved the upbeat vibe it gave,” he said. “Lee Un-jeong (played by Cha Eun-woo) wearing glasses was inspired by Clark Kent from the film Superman. I wanted to capture that genre-tinged thrill of a hero dramatically tossing aside their glasses at a decisive moment.”
He continued, “In the Indiana Jones series, bugs and snakes pop up here and there to deliver a jolt of disgust — that kind of darkness is essential to the adventure genre. The scene where veteran actor Jung Bo-seok’s face transforms grotesquely comes from the same place,” adding, “We drew heavily on the distinctly fun, adventurous energy of Guardians of the Galaxy (aka ‘GOTG’) and the movie The Goonies.”
In episode 6, the battle against the villains strongly evokes the image of Groot from ‘GOTG’. The show even tips its hand in the episode titles — episodes 7 and 8 are named ‘Guardians of Haeseong City Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ — making the homage crystal clear.
After the release, netizens reacted with explosive interest, dropping comments like, “It reminds me of X-Men: First Class,” “It has that The Umbrella Academy vibe,” “Among Korean hero series, the CG quality is straight-up legendary,” “Episode 6 really made me think of Groot,” and “I can even feel the spirit of the Korean film Save the Green Planet!.”
Brimming with big-screen thrills, the superpowered comic adventure The WONDERfools is now available to stream in full on Netflix.