Lulu Wang to Helm English Adaptation of Like Father, Like Son

After breaking out with the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy The Farewell, writer/director Lulu Wang has found her next feature project in the form of an English-language adaptation of the 2013 Cannes hit Like Father, Like Son, according to Variety.

Written, directed and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), the Japanese drama centered on Ryota, a successful workaholic businessman who learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth and must decide whether to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own for six years.

Click here to purchase Kore-eda’s original film!

The new film will be penned by playwright Sarah Ruhl (The Glorias), with Wang attached to direct for Focus Features and produce alongside Josh McLaughlin of Wink Productions. Wang took to Twitter to confirm that the film will not be a remake of the Cannes Jury Prize winner and Palme d’Or nominee, but rather a reimagining of the drama.

P.S. I don’t believe in “remakes”. I’ll leave it at that for now.

— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) August 12, 2020

Wang’s The Farewell, loosely based on her own personal family experience, was one of the most celebrated films of 2019, currently maintaining a 98 percent approval rating from critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes and earning the Best Feature award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and two Golden Globe nominations, with star Awkwafina taking home the statue for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. The 37-year-old filmmaker is currently developing the drama series The Expatriates at Amazon with Nicole Kidman executive producing and Wang writing and directing multiple episodes.

A remake was previously in the works at DreamWorks Pictures with Chris and Paul Weitz (About a Boy) attached to direct and Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies) producing, but after years of development hell it appears that project was quietly cancelled.

(Photo Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)