Han Suk-kyu's shelved thriller 'Speaking Dead' set for second-half release, 5 years after production halt

Han Suk-kyu's drama Speaking Dead is finally getting a release date — sort of. Production company SLL중앙 announced on July 7 that the mystery thriller will drop in the second half of 2026. A specific date and broadcast platform remain unconfirmed.

Han plays forensic pathologist Jang Jae-wook, who becomes a suspect in an urban terror case and begins to confess, unraveling the truth behind an incident from over 10 years earlier. Jung Yu-mi, Yeom Hye-ran, Lee Hee-joon, and Kim Jun-han complete the cast.

Getting here took years. Speaking Dead started as a 16-part series called When Morning Breaks, adapted from Chinese author Zi Jinchen's mystery novel Long Night Difficult to Brighten (長夜難明). In 2021, with 8 episodes already filmed, production stopped. Controversy erupted over how the source novel portrayed the Chinese Communist Party. The team re-edited the existing footage into an 8-part series instead. Five years later, the show is moving again.

Before the full release, SLL중앙 will screen the series at the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) on July 11. Speaking Dead has also been invited to the competition section of the 2nd Italy Global Series Festival (IGSF 2026), which opened July 3. Two international festival selections before a single episode has aired publicly.

BIFAN opened July 2. The July 11 screening marks the work's first public premiere. A full release schedule is still pending.