LEE JOON GI
IN
THRILLING
ASIAN
CO-PRODUCTION
A
FILM
ADAPTATION
OF
KEIGO HIGASHINO’S
NOVEL
THE NAME
OF
THE GAME
IS
KIDNAPPING
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After an agonizing long
silence about Lee Joon Gi’s filming project, an explosion of casting news has
set the internet ablaze. For weeks, fans only knew one tantalizing detail: South Korean Lee Joon Gi was filming alongside Singapore’s Carrie Wong. The production itself seems like
a globe-trotting mystery, sweeping from Singapore to South Korea and Japan, and
now Taiwan. The curtain has finally lifted. The dazzling reveal confirms a
star-studded cast lineup and a movie. On set, Lee Joon Gi was every
bit his radiant, magnetic self. Looking relaxed and brimming with energy, he
appeared to be practically dancing as he strolled around the filming location.
The megastar’s joyful, playful and buoyant presence seems to have lit up the filming location.
 
According to Next Apple News, a Taiwan-based online media outlet, South Korean heartthrob, Lee Joon Gi is currently filming his new movie alongside Taiwan’s acclaimed actress, Alice Ko and Japanese star, Kentaro Sakaguchi. (‘Kentaro Sakaguchi came to Taiwan
to film his new movie…' ‘Ko Chia-yen also stars in the film.’)   ETtoday, Taiwan’s influential news media platform, states, ‘It is understood that the crew was filming a Japanese drama, Kidnapping Game, presumably an adaptation of a novel by Keigo Higashino.’ The media platform confirms that the project being filmed is - a film / a movie (i.e. drama film / drama movie), and not, a television drama series. ('This magazine learned that the film was originally scheduled to begin in October...')  Keigo Higashino’s celebrated novel, The Name of The Game Is Kidnapping, is globally well-known. The story already promises mind games, tension, and razor-sharp twists.
Lee Joon Gi and his Japanese
co-star were spotted at multiple filming locations including the arrival hall
at Terminal 2 of Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. Lee looked
effortlessly gorgeous.
      NamooActors, Lee’s management
agency, later confirmed the buzz, stating simply but tantalizingly – ‘He’s
filming an Asian co-production.’ 
At 43, Lee, a globally-acclaimed
megastar, is celebrated for his chameleon like versatility across film and
television. His illustrious career boasts numerous international acting awards,
and accolades from the US, China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Singapore, cementing his
status as a dominant global actor and incomparable force of the Hallyu Wave
worldwide. 
His Taiwanese co-star, Alice
Ko Chia Yen (41) is best known for ‘Marry Me, Or Not’ (2015), and ‘Some
Day or One Day (2019-2020)’, for which she clinched the Best Actress award
in both 2016 and 2020. Married and accomplished, she brings depth to all her
roles.  Kentaro Sakaguchi (34), a Japanese
actor and model, won the Best New Actor award at the 11th Osaka Cinema
Festival in 2016 and has since built a great career for himself. In Japanese,
he is referred to as Sakaguchi Kentaro. His surname is Sakaguchi.
That makes Carrie Wong (32),
the youngest among the 4 stars but no less powerful. In 2025, she achieved All-Time
Favourite Artiste status at Singapore’s Star Awards after winning her tenth
Top Most Popular Female Artiste title, firmly establishing herself as
one of Mediacorp’s brightest stars.  Keigo Higashino The original 2002 Japanese
novel, The Name of The Game Is Kidnapping, tells of a razor-sharp battle
of wits between two brilliant minds. Sakuma Shunsuke, a
charismatic advertising planner, treats both life and work as a game until he was
unexpectedly sidelined by a powerful client, Katsuragi Katsutoshi during a
major project. Humiliated and seething, he
crosses paths with Juri, Katsuragi’s daughter, who harbours her own resentment
against her father. Together, they devised a chilling plan – revenge through a
carefully orchestrated kidnapping game. As the psychological thriller
unfolds, the supposed Gamemaster realises a terrifying truth. He is not in
control at all. He is a mere pawn in a far more dangerous and darker game. The story thrives on tension,
manipulation and moral ambiguity. The novel’s gripping premise
has inspired numerous adaptations across Asia:
1. ‘Game’ – Japanese
film (2003) 2. ‘The Name of The Game
Is A Kidnapping' – Japanese TV mini-series (2024) 3. ‘Kidnapping
Game’ – Chinese TV series (2020) 4. ‘Welcome to The Game’ –
Chinese film (2024) 5. ‘Sarabham’ – Indian film (2014)
Unlike the various adaptations which are set in only one country, Lee Joon Gi’s movie would be different since the cast members are international and it is filmed in many countries in Asia - Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The story for the new
adaptation would probably be revamped to reflect the international cast and settings. With a
cast so powerful and a story so explosive, Lee Joon Gi’s latest project is
shaping up to be nothing short of a global sensation.
 https://news.nextapple.com/entertainment/20260127/604E10C10AF3D8F99B3257753ED1796D
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