The drama ‘Flowers of Evil’ produced by Studio Dragon will be made into a play in Japan.

The news of the production of the ‘Flowers of Evil’ play was announced at the ‘K-Drama Festival 2024 with Studio Dragon’ held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan on the 12th. The play ‘Flowers of Evil’, which will feature a Japanese cast, is scheduled for its first performance in 2026.

The drama ‘Flowers of Evil’, starring Lee Joon-gi, has ranked in the TOP 10 in a total of 27 countries since its airing on tvN in 2020, when it was released worldwide through Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In Japan, it has been very popular, staying in the Netflix series TOP 10 for 9 consecutive weeks.

The production of the play ‘Flowers of Evil’ is being promoted as part of a business agreement (MOU) between Studio Dragon and Japan‘s Avex Pictures. Avex Pictures is a group company of Avex, a leading entertainment company in Japan, and specializes in animation, live-action video content business, and performance planning and production. The ‘Vincenzo’ musical, which was presented as the first result of the business agreement between the two companies last year, received a good response in Japan.

Yuka Higuchi, a producer at Avex Film Labels, the live-action video work label within Avex Pictures that is planning the play ‘Flowers of Evil’, said, “The mega-hit drama ‘Flowers of Evil’ has been decided to be made into a play in Japan in 2026 through the cooperation of Studio Dragon and other related parties. The reason why this drama captivated so many people is because of the entertainment factor of the story, such as mystery and suspense, but also because at its core is a deep love and human drama,” he said, explaining the reason for selecting the drama.

He continued, “By conveying this story in a new way in the form of a play, we want to create a work that can move the hearts of the audience in a more emotional way. We are working hard to produce it so that not only fans of the original work but also fans of the play can enjoy it. Please look forward to it.”

Yoo Bong-yeol, head of the content business team at Studio Dragon, said, “The theatrical adaptation of ‘Flower of Evil’ is a good example that shows the endless potential for expansion of drama IPs that have proven popular locally,” adding, “Recently, Studio Dragon has been expanding its drama IPs in various forms, from the musical adaptations of ‘Crash Landing on You’ and ‘Vincenzo’ to the theatrical adaptation of ‘Flower of Evil’, and has been achieving success in the global market. The revival of the ‘Vincenzo’ musical is also under discussion.”

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter projecthong@donga.com