From 'Spellbound' to 'Scandal': Classic films get second life as OTT drama series

The expansion of intellectual property is now reaching into film. Feature-length theatrical movies are being reimagined as long-form drama series and global streaming titles.

Webtoons and web novels have long served as source material, but now beloved domestic and foreign films are also crossing platform boundaries for a second life.

tvN's new weekend drama series "Spellbound" premiered Saturday, based on the 2011 film of the same name starring Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki, which was a major hit upon its release.

The original film follows a lonely woman who can see ghosts and a street magician in a modest, eerie occult romance. The drama series expands the premise considerably: it centers on a reclusive chaebol heiress named Cheon Yeo-ri (played by Park Eun-bin), who can see ghosts, and a prosecutor named Ma Gang-uk (Yang Se-jong) who investigates cold cases. A new character — hotel CEO Kang Min-hwan, played by Ong Seong-wu — is added to form a love triangle.

Park Eun-bin, who plays the lead, said at a recent press conference that "everything is new except the character's name and the ability to see ghosts," adding that while the film ran about two hours, the 12-episode drama series incorporates at least six times as much new material.

Netflix's "Scandal," set for release in the second half of this year, follows the same path. The series reimagines the 2003 theatrical hit "Scandal: Joseon Male and Female's Indecent Story," which starred Bae Yong-joon, Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Mi-sook.

Son Ye-jin takes over from Lee Mi-sook in the role of Lady Jo, a woman of exceptional talent constrained by the limitations placed on women of her era. Ji Chang-wook steps into the role of Jo-won, Joseon's most notorious womanizer, previously played by Bae Yong-joon. Nana has been cast as Hee-yeon, the young widow originally portrayed by Jeon Do-yeon.

Disney+'s "The Manipulated," released late last year, follows the same trend. The series shares its universe with the 2017 film "Fabricated City." Oh Sang-ho, who wrote the original film's screenplay, returned to write the series, and Ji Chang-wook reprised his lead role as Tae-jung. The series completely reworked the protagonist, main villain and other character settings, however, deepening the world-building to deliver a more dramatic narrative than the film.

The trend is gaining traction overseas as well. Netflix's Japanese series "Human Vapor," starring Oguri Shun and Aoi Yu and released simultaneously worldwide, is based on the 1960 Japanese tokusatsu film "The Human Vapor" directed by Honda Ishiro.

Korean director Yeon Sang-ho served as executive producer and screenwriter, while Japanese director Katayama Shinzo directed the eight-episode series. The core premise — a "gas human" with the ability to transform his body into vapor, pursued by a detective and a journalist — remains intact, but the fantastical concepts and special effects of the half-century-old film have been reinterpreted for a modern audience. The series ranked fourth among Netflix's non-English shows in its second week.

Industry observers say studios are reviving proven film intellectual property as drama series and streaming titles to reduce box-office risk and broaden audience appeal. With production costs rising sharply and the market for webtoon- and web novel-based dramas becoming saturated, the fandom built around an original film offers a reliable base of early viewers, analysts say.

Adaptations also hold an advantage in terms of narrative scope. The time constraints of a two-hour theatrical film often force storytellers to cut subplots and world-building details that a drama series format can then explore in far greater depth.