Well well, now. Producers have announced the two lead stars of its anticipated IRIS 2: Hallyu star Jung Woo-sung and rising actor Cha Seung-won. The drama which will be produced under the title Athena, which is an international terrorist organization that provides the conflict in the sequel.
Jung plays the good guy, while Cha is the bad. Jung’s character is an agent with the national intelligence agency, named “Lee Jung-yuk”; like Lee Byung-heon’s character, he’s the top spy at the agency. Cha, on the other hand, is “Sohn Hyuk,” the “absolute leader” of Athena who trains his agents as human weapons.
Producers at Taewon Entertainment promise that they’ll be casting sufficiently noteworthy female stars and supporting actors, whom they will unveil in due time. Athena will begin filming in June in either Italy or Switzerland, two of a total of six overseas shoots that include Singapore and New Zealand. It plans for a premiere later this year.
When the rumors floated about Kwon Sang-woo’s interest in this drama, discussion pointed out that in order to live up to its predecessor, the drama would really have to go big in the casting, and it has done that with Jung Woo-sung. This is Jung’s first drama role in fifteen years; his last was 1995′s 1.5 with Shim Eun-ha. (Sidebar: omg, remember 1.5? Unintentional hilarity GALORE! The series was all about the “1.5 generation” of Korean-Americans, who feel caught between their mother country but have grown accustomed to living in the States. Good idea, bad execution.)
Cha Seung-won is another great pick; he’s had a number of film roles but didn’t really break out until City Hall, where he showed both intense charisma and an ability to portray some bad-guy behavior in a compelling way. If the female leads are as strong (at least stronger than Kim Tae-hee, although it’ll be hard to top Kim So-yeon), perhaps Athena will hold its own as a worthy sequel.
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RECENTLY COMPLETED
Dear JB….I know you said we shouldn’t…but SQUEEEEEEE!
Sorry…I’ll go quietly.
Two thumbs up on this duo! Praying rest of the cast is on the same level…
Wow. The casting is impressive so far.
I hope they improve on the first IRIS.
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG…….I’ve just died and gone to heaven. Thank you lord for answering my fervent prayers. Can you imagine the face off scene between the two? I cannot wait.
I am hoarse from squeeing!! OMG so amazing, I’m speechless.
Totally pumped for Cha Seung-won to play a baddy — I think he’ll be fan-TAB-ulous. I do hope, however, that they don’t try to one-up themselves after IRIS; I think they’d do better to try to incorporate some more traditional Kdrama elements than trying to go full-on Western.
On a side note, are they going to keep naming these things after a succession of Greek goddesses? What’s next — Hera? Persephone?
OK, not so speechless. LOOK AT THEIR PICS SIDE BY SIDE!
Awesomesauce x infinity, I swear. Best casting news of the year as far as I’m concerned!
So. Handsome. That is all.
SQUEEING phone calls…tweets…this got my attention!
Damn, this is good news!
But…PLEASE BE BETTER THAN IRIS!!!!
And…CAST A GOOD FEMALE LEAD! PUH-LEEZE!!!
It would be real fantastic if Kim Sun Ah is cast as the beautiful but naughty spy who will be “playing” around the 2 wow guys.
hmm… do we need Iris2? I will say that these two are peaking my interest.
Seriously, more importantly… Puhahahaha!!!! 1.5!!!!
JB – you’re an oldie like me. I can’t believe you remember 1.5. Man was that a disaster.
It would be awesome to do a recap of 1.5: I’m Korean but American and I can play football and get it on with white chicks…
OMG the hilarity!
Another hot men spree and galore..
Love the men and their hotness. But less they do some MAJOR improvement, and I mean really MAJOR!, in the script (hjkomo will concur with me!), no amount of hotness will do it for me, even if the men are this GREAT.
So now it’s speculation time for the potential female lead!
I’d love Ha Ji Won to return to the screen. She can kickass for sure.
@ ripgal
I suggested HJW as well but langdon wisely mention we don’t need any women in this drama at all. She is probably right. But I love to see HJW back on TV
Yes, I agree with ripgal on both counts -
1) BETTER SCRIPT!!! (Please don’t waste these two talented & HOT men!)
2) Ha Ji Won!
and
3) Can Kang Ji Hwan have a part, too?
OH…and…
4) THANK YOU FOR NOT CASTING KWON SANG WOO!
5) Does this mean I should finish IRIS?
omg! thanks for the wonderful news JB! these 2 male leads alone are already enough to keep me excited.
@ ripgal – yes, crossing my fingers on Ha Ji Won
I’m just here to revive @langdon,@ockoala and whoever just SQUEEEEE so hard that they fainted…
So sad,I’ve yet to finish IRIS, hehe…
Singapore,eh….@serendipity,you better clean out your spare room, because some of your long lost relatives from OT are coming….
cha seung-won? i’m in! wonder who the main female lead(s) will be . . .
I kid, I kid, I would love Ha Ji-won in this, that would be VERY cool!
As for Kang Ji-hwan…I don’t know if the world is ready for these three men on the same screen at the same time. Might cause more shifting of the earth’s axis…or something.
But I’m willing to risk it.
@langdon
So,what the club’s name for this drama- ICOMYM PREMIUM CLUB- where all the hot men/male leads are superstar and too hot to handle?
i am just here to gauge the reactions from ockoala, hjkomo, langdon, and samsookie… i think i can hear the squeeing here in WI from the two coasts!
never seen JWS in a drama before. he’s awesome in movies. and well, my first encounter of CSW was city hall, so he’s got a lot to live up to. can’t wait for more casting news. it would be totally awesome if HJW were cast.
and i second langdon’s comment about the guys’ pix side by side. holy YUMMINESS!!!!
@ockoala, langdon..
Haha, no woman in Athena? No way. Even the title spells woman.
But don’t mind an all-men OTP!
Maybe if they cast an actress who’s not as good, she can be the third party. She’ll just drown in envy for not being able to get the guys. They’ll be too focused on each other that they’ll not notice her at all! How’s that?
ACOMHRM – Appropriate Crushes On Much Hotter REAL Men!!!
I have no words, I lost the ability to think for a moment. Jung Woo Sung and Cha Seung Won that is a lot of talent, I really hope it works out well. I am actually looking forward to seeing the sequel.
has anyone mentioned how delish CSW looks in that pic? JB picked such an incredibly HOTTT pic of CSW. can i make a request?? please don’t post any other posts for a while. i like opening up DB and having those two men staring rite at me.
My interest in Iris 2 is kicked way up in the sky right now!!! Double Eye Candy <3
Now the only catch left is a great female lead being cast. It would be tough to beat the performance of Kim So Yeon, but still, please, pretty please producers, do much BETTER than Kim Tae Hee.
But this time, I would want just one female role, instead of having two females like in Iris. Some people suggested Ha Ji Won, which I think is a great choice.
@hjkomo – OMG hajiwon would be SUCH A GOOD ADDITION to this awesome cast!! i can’t think of anyone better!!
i would definitely LOVE hajiwon in this drama or perhaps a noob.
also i’m glad kwonsangwoo was not cast in this. i would’ve avoided it like the plague! i like him, but he’s not fit for this kind of role.
@langdon813 – i would risk a shift in the earth’s axis for some kangjihwan action in this drama, too!! hahahahhaa
@javabeans – oh man.. i remember watching 1.5 when i was SUPER DUPER young! i rmemeber LOVING the song! i attached a youtube fanmade mv for the lols
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QinayFF5Nw
@hjkomo
Kang Ji Hwan oppa… don’t mention already. He’s currently in hot boiling water and I doubt he’d be back in a drama soon. The last I heard he’s been banned from doing dramas by some drama association or something… >.<
And yes, you should finish IRIS, just to see how bad it ended. But pray that it won't affect your anticipation for IRIS 2 (for a superficial reason haha).
Wow! I might have to tune into this just to see Cha Seung-won again!
I haven’t watched IRIS so I’m not sure if this was the case but for Athena, SIX overseas shoots including either Italy or Switzerland, Singapore, AND New Zealand? My goodness! There better be some amazing cinematography involved!
@hjkomo
I hereby be the first member to this- ACOMHRM….
Very good, my Cal Sis
BTW,Who’s the Madame President?
@ cingdoc
I’ll give it some serious thought once I’m able to form real words again. Right now I’m just happy to be able to string together the letters O M G while dancing around my den like Snoopy on crack!
@ lb_tmi
hjkomo says I crashed Twitter…which is entirely possible.
EDITED TO ADD:
@ hjkomo
Love it! That makes YOU Madame President of this club, my dear friend!
@26, OH man oh man that video brings back some memories! So, so, so cheesy. I still cringe to think of Shin Hyun-joon’s horrendous accent, which is basically a mockery of all Korean-Americans. Think: A Korean actor acts like an American and therefore speaks purposely bad Korean with a painfully exaggerated Westernized accent, but somehow manages perfect grammar, and ends up sounding like a Korean Forrest Gump. lulz all around.
no…way…
omg… i can’t believe the casting…
CHA SEUNG WONNNNN WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!?!?!!?!? although honestly – i think the writers do a better job with the baddies than they do with the good guys
i am sorely tempted to watch this – but i don’t know – i’m so scared that it’ll be overhyped again. i was a tad disappointed with IRIS – and so i really hope that IRIS 2 storyline is better. lee byung hoon is not that bad an actor, and neither is jung joon ho – but look at how the story made them seem like they were – or made them over emote…
sigh….
WHAT TO DOOOOO!?
at least we know it REALLY is happening.
please don’t give kim tae hee a cameo
KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA… OMG, hot fudge overload!! Gawd, Jung Woosung and Cha Seungwon in one drama??
@26 ud0ng33
Thanks for posting that link. Wow, all I can say is that Korean dramas sure have come a loooong way!
Jung Woo-sung looks more handsome now than he did then!
WHOAAAAAAA! BEST NEWS EVER TODAY!
Jung Woo-sung is my ultimate man!!!! He IS the reason I started watching Korean movies which later transcended into watching Korean dramas. And yes, I even watched him in 1.5… But I started falling in love with him in “A moment to remember” and from there, it never stopped. I always have him on my radar.
I for one would just like to say that I’ve NEVER watched a drama for superficial reasons. Such as a totally hot awesome male cast.
What was that my daddy used to say? “You go to hell for lying,same as stealing?” I guess I’d better pack my warm weather clothes.
I wanted Rain for my own selfish reasons ; P
Hope Hallyu ends up the winner with the casting choices. I’ve seen both male leads work – from what I’ve seen, they should be able to pull it off
Let the guessing begin for the female leads? Is Kim Soyeon signing on ?
OMO!!! was made to come out of silent lurking mode because of this news..
AWWW!!! My 2 fave K-actors in one drama…
….hope IRIS 2 will be better though.
i didnt watch IRIS (1)… i was too occupied with You’re Beautiful that time and didnt get a chance to ever watch it… but hearing that IRIS 2 has casted Cha Seung-won… OMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! im definitely watching this one!!!
@ ud0ng33
OMG, that is heelarious!!!
@ JB
Forrest Gump, lulz! That accent – yikes!
Ah, didn’t watch 1.5…
But the hair, the makeup…oy…brings back such memories. O_O
@ langdon813
Me? Madame President of ACOMHRM?
Don’t know if I want that kind of pressure & responsibility…
This is great news for me. I totally love the two male leads. Oh my god. I can’t wait for Irish 2. I hoping to see a great female actress alongside these two great men.
I didn’t even know until now and it has made my day. Thanks for the news.
Jung Woo Sung and Cha Seung Won in a drama? SQUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I totally agree with the commenters about Ha Ji Won.
Looking at it, it is a whole new casts .
Yes, for female lead Ha Ji Won will be a big bonus against JWS & CSW.
I am glad KSW was not given a part. LOL
I don’t know Jung Woo-sung but he looks cool, and Cha Seung-won is just perfect. Thank goodness, no KSW, he would spoil the project with injuries.
So looking forward to this. Love CSW! Thans JB.
Oh, what a great cast! I’m a bit bummed it’s not a direct sequel though (at least, it doesn’t seem like one), because I really want solutions to the loose ends in IRIS.
for some reason i’m more excited about this than iris. i hope the female leads are strong!
Thank you for proving that there is a Santa Claus for adults, and I was on his nice list. Still not entirely coherent, but again, the thought of 20 episodes of JWS + CSW makes me delirious, kinda dizzy, woozy, short of breath, and frankly, if this is a dream I don’t want to wake up. Sigh, so this is what bliss feels like.
Other than HJW, I’m gonna throw out two other choices that would reunite some sizzling OTPs – Son Ye-Jin or Kim Su-nah.
New Zealand huh? I hope you let us know when they’re in NZ, I can go do some k-drama set stalking =p