“The Glory” (2022) actor Song Hye-kyo will return to the Korean silver screen for the first time in 10 years as an exorcist nun in the upcoming standalone sequel to film “The Priests” (2015).


The actor, along with co-stars Jeon Yeo-been, Lee Jin-wook and Huh Joon-ho, have been cast in a new Korean film directed by Kwon Hyeok-jae, the film's production company and distributor Next Entertainment World (NEW) said. Shooting for the film will start in late February.

Song's last Korean film was “My Brilliant Life" (2014). She had appeared in all three films of the "The Crossing" Chinese movie series and in the drama series "Descendants of the Sun" (2016), "Encounter" (2018-19) and "The Glory" (2022-23).

Titled “Dark Nuns” in Korean, the upcoming supernatural thriller tells the story of people on a mission to save a boy possessed by an evil spirit, according to NEW.

Song takes on the role of Junia, a determined nun who will stop at nothing to save the tortured boy from his pain. Sister Michaela, who is first intrigued by Junia and later works alongside her, will be played by Jeon.

“The Priests” (2015) was written and directed by Jang Jae-hyun, which followed priests played by Gang Dong-won and Kim Yoon-seok on their quest to exorcise an evil spirit from a young girl named Park So-dam. The film was both a critical and commercial success.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]