Lee is in talks for a rare villain role in the upcoming movie ‘Dochabi’ and leads a deadly survival game in the thriller series ‘Kidnap Game’
Lee Joon-gi. Photo: courtesy of Rakuten Viki.
Romance and action might be his areas of expertise, but Lee Joon-gi steals the spotlight when playing darker characters. By “dark,” it does not mean a hardcore antagonist dripping with villainy. Up until now, the Hallyu star has played heroes and classic Byronic figures—gritty, pensive, and seemingly negative, but always working toward the greater good. This contrasts sharply with the new character he has been offered in the upcoming Netflix movie, Dochabi.
Unlike his previous dark roles in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) and Flower of Evil (2020)—where characters acted cold and dangerous to protect themselves from past trauma and betrayal—this new role marks a turning point in the actor’s filmography by presenting him as an arch-nemesis.
Set in the Joseon Dynasty borderlands, the historical film Dochabi—Korean for ‘goblin’—tells the story of an exiled military officer. Living in the mountains, he’s forced out of hiding to protect local farmers from a corrupt official who’s hell-bent on framing and hunting them down.
Shooting is expected to begin shortly, with the film currently in pre-production. As for Lee, he’s positively reviewing the role according to his agency, Namoo Actors.
In the meantime, Lee will star alongside popular actors Kentaro Sakaguchi from Japan and Alice Ko from Taiwan in the thriller Kidnap Game.
The drama centers on a series of sudden kidnappings across various cities in Asia, including Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, and more, rattling the continent. The crisis deepens when the victims’ families receive a creepy email challenging them to see how far they’ll go to save their loved ones, with the cruel catch that only one person can be saved.
This unexpected situation pits seven strangers from different backgrounds into a bloody marathon of survival where, given a limited time and individual directives, they must complete their missions ahead of the others to rescue their family members.
Lee Joon-gi portrays Han Ki-joo, a brilliant surgeon from Seoul who’s forced into this deadly race against time after his visually impaired daughter is abducted, leaving him with no choice but to take radical steps for her sake.
Kidnap Game is a major co-production between South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, slated for an Oct. 2026 release.