Yeon Sang-ho previews four-part Paradise Lost prequel series made with generative AI

Reuniting With the Dead: A Strange Prequel Forged by Technology

The dystopian world built by director Yeon Sang-ho expands further through 'generative AI' technology. CJ ENM, the film's distributor, announced on the 28th that it will release the first two episodes of 'Paradise Lost - Universe,' a prequel short-film series to the upcoming film 'Paradise Lost,' through its official channels on the 29th.

The short-film series is set in the near future, where technology that uses artificial intelligence to restore people who have died and reunite them with their loved ones has become commercially available. While sharing the feature film's central premise, the series establishes its own narrative through strange episodes that intrude into the everyday lives of ordinary people.

The first episode, 'Your Seaweed Soup,' will be released simultaneously on four platforms—YouTube, Naver TV, Instagram and Facebook—on the 29th. It follows an elderly man who sits across from his late wife through an unfamiliar device. The second episode, 'Dad Is Here,' explores the perspective of a young daughter who reunites with her dead father through a special pair of glasses, delivering an emotionally weighty story.

The project also points to a new frontier for the video industry because Yeon Sang-ho wrote the screenplay himself and completed production with extensive use of 'generative AI.' Chae Min-joo, the music director for the feature film, composed the soundtrack, strengthening the project's continuity. The follow-up episodes, 3 and 4, will be unveiled on the 6th of next month.

The film 'Paradise Lost,' which serves as the foundation for the series, follows the mystery that unfolds when Ryu So-young, played by Kim Hyun-joo, reunites with her son, Ryu Sun-woo, played by Bae Hyun-sung, nine years after he went missing. In the film, Ryu So-young is portrayed as a woman who has endured her grief by relying on 'transhuman' technology to recreate her dead son through AI.

'Paradise Lost,' which earned early recognition for its artistic quality after receiving an official invitation to the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, will open in South Korean theaters on the 21st of next month.