Warner Bros Korea Sets September Date for The Intern Remake

Warner Bros Korea's The Intern remake — a Korean-language adaptation of the 2015 Nancy Meyers comedy starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee — is scheduled for a September 2026 theatrical release in South Korea, as reported by Movie News Chat. The film belongs to the workplace comedy-drama category and adapts the original premise of a retired executive returning to the workforce as a senior intern at an e-commerce fashion company. It solves the narrative challenge of localizing a Western intergenerational workplace story for Korean audiences while retaining the original's emotional core.

Key Facts

Warner Bros Korea's The Intern remake is a feature-length theatrical film with a September 2026 release window. The following table consolidates the verified production and release attributes reported in the source material.

Who Is This For?

The target audience includes South Korean theatrical moviegoers aged 25–54 who have familiarity with either the 2015 Hollywood original or the two lead actors' prior filmographies. It also appeals to international audiences interested in Korean cinema adaptations of Western properties.

Choi Min-sik, known for Oldboy (2003) and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014), brings a dramatic-action pedigree to a comedic role. Han So-hee, known for The World of the Married (2020) and Nevertheless (2021), represents a younger demographic pull. The pairing targets cross-generational viewership — a deliberate strategy given the film's intergenerational premise. Specific box-office projections have not been disclosed in the source material.

How Does This Remake Differ From the 2015 Original?

The Korean remake retains the core premise of the 2015 film — a 70-year-old widower, Ben Whittaker, becomes a senior intern at an e-commerce fashion company run by a younger female CEO, Jules Ostin. Warner Bros Korea has not disclosed the degree of script deviation from Nancy Meyers' original screenplay.

The original The Intern grossed approximately $194.6 million worldwide on a $35 million production budget, according to publicly available box-office data cited in industry reports. The Korean adaptation's budget has not been announced. Casting changes — Choi Min-sik replacing De Niro and Han So-hee replacing Hathaway — represent the most significant confirmed alterations. Whether the remake updates the setting from New York to Seoul, or modifies the relationship dynamics for Korean cultural norms, remains unconfirmed.

"Warner Bros Korea's remake swaps the original's De Niro–Hathaway pairing for Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, marking the first Korean-language adaptation of the 2015 comedy."

When Exactly in September Will the Film Release?

Movie News Chat reports a September 2026 release window but does not specify an exact premiere date. The source states only that Warner Bros Korea "sets September release" without narrowing the timeframe to a specific day.

September is a notable month for Korean theatrical releases, often positioned between the summer blockbuster season and the Chuseok holiday period, which frequently falls in late September or early October. Chuseok 2026 falls on September 25, making mid-to-late September a commercially strategic release corridor. However, Warner Bros Korea has not confirmed whether the film will open before, during, or after the Chuseok holiday window. Industry tracking data for this release has not been published.

"The exact September 2026 premiere date for the Korean The Intern remake has not been publicly confirmed by Warner Bros Korea as of the latest reporting."

What Is Warner Bros Korea's Track Record With Local Remakes?

Warner Bros Korea has historically focused on local-language productions and distributions, though The Intern remake represents a distinct category — a Western property adapted for Korean audiences.

The studio's Korean-language portfolio has included films such as The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion (2018) and The Divine Fury (2019), though those were original properties rather than remakes. The decision to adapt The Intern signals a strategic pivot toward localized adaptations of proven Hollywood IP. No comparative box-office data for Warner Bros Korea remakes is available in the source material because this is the studio's first confirmed remake of a Western comedy. Whether the studio plans additional Hollywood-to-Korea adaptations has not been announced.

"Warner Bros Korea's The Intern remake is the studio's first confirmed Korean-language adaptation of a Hollywood comedy, marking a strategic expansion beyond its original local productions."

Common Questions

Will Choi Min-sik play the same role Robert De Niro played in the original?

Yes. Choi Min-sik is cast as the senior intern character originated by Robert De Niro in the 2015 film — a 70-year-old retired executive who joins a fashion e-commerce startup as an intern. Warner Bros Korea has confirmed the casting but not disclosed character-name changes.

Is the Korean remake set in Seoul or New York?

The source material does not specify the setting. The original film is set in New York. Warner Bros Korea has not announced whether the remake relocates the story to Seoul or retains the original's American setting with Korean dialogue. No production stills or location details have been released.

When was the original The Intern released and how much did it earn?

The original The Intern was released on September 25, 2015, and grossed approximately $194.6 million worldwide against a $35 million budget, per industry box-office databases. The Korean remake's budget and projected earnings have not been disclosed.

Sources and Methodology

This article is based on a single primary source: the Movie News Chat report published on TheMovieBlog.com, titled "Warner Bros Korea Sets September Date for The Intern Remake." Box-office figures for the 2015 original film reference publicly available industry data and are cited as approximations. Release-date specifics for the remake are limited to what the source explicitly states — September 2026 — and any dates beyond that are marked as unconfirmed. No currency conversions were applied because the source material contains no financial figures for the remake.

This article was last updated on August 1, 2026.