Last Train to New York was supposed to be the American remake of the Korean zombie movie, best zombie movies of the modern, post-2010 era. The Korean horror film, directed by Yeon Sang-ho, stars Gong Yoo as Seok-woo, a workaholic, divorced father who is bringing his estranged daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), to Busan to visit her mother for her birthday.

Little does anyone know, a zombie virus is spreading in Korea and the train that Seok-woo and Su-an take to Busan is about to be ground zero for a viral outbreak. An action-packed and story-filled film with plenty of scares and kills, Train to Busan is a consummate example of what the zombie genre can still offer. It led to an animated prequel, Seoul Station, and a sequel, Peninsula. Naturally, American studios wanted a piece of the pie and a remake was quickly announced, Last Train to New York. However, since then, news has been discouraging.

Last Train To New York Was Taken Off Warner Bros.' Release Schedule In 2022

Evil Dead Rises Took Its Place

Last Train to New York was first announced in 2016, the same year Train to Busan was released (via Variety). Gaumont acquired the rights for an English-language remake. Then, in 2018, New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, and Coin Operated were announced to be co-producing the remake alongside Warner Bros and Gaumont (via Deadline). At the same time, Timo Tjahjanto was announced to be in negotiations to direct. An official release date was announced in 2021, setting the Tjahjanto-directed, James Wan-produced movie for an April 21, 2023, release date (via Deadline).

Then, in the middle of 2022, Warner Bros quietly removed Last Train to New York from their release schedule, replacing it with Evil Dead Rise taking its place (via modest response to the 2020 sequel, Peninsula, also probably dampened enthusiasm for the remake.

Last Train To New York Shouldn't Happen

A New York Subway Zombie Movie Would Still Be Great

It's possible that all this backtracking and delays on Last Train to New York is a good thing. Maybe a Train to Busan remake doesn't need to happen at all. Remakes in general are always tricky, and rarely does a remake ever sur the original. There needs to be a very, very good reason for a remake to happen and an American version of an already modern, excellent horror movie has little reason to exist. Train to Busan is already very good. There isn't much more that can be squeezed out of the story, setting it in the United States.

Timo Tjahjanto has notably directed segments in V/H/S/2 and V/H/S/94.

Last Train to New York feels like a needless cash grab and one that doesn't even make much sense considering how easy it is to see foreign movies with subtitles these days. A zombie movie set in the subways of New York City is still an excellent idea, however, and one that should definitely be explored. Why it needs to be under the Train to Busan banner is anyone's guess. In fact, Last Train to New York is barely a similar title. There's so much room for original zombie movies, so Train to Busan can and should be left alone.