I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 398

[‘Pierrot’ is set to be the movie that announces the beginning of that huge project. We have reviewed many stories and characters over the years, and as a result, ‘Columbia Studios’ has decided to take on the challenge. It will certainly be a difficult path, but we will do our best. ‘Pierrot’ is the starting point of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ we have prepared.]

‘Columbia Studios’ is announcing the ‘Cinematic Universe’ to the world.

[This is not a ‘Cinematic Universe’ that we are undertaking lightly. It will be a hero series where several movies are organically connected, and we have high expectations for this large-scale project, including a vast worldview, a wide range of characters, and numerous stories. We promise to show you interesting movies in the future.]

They also mentioned the changed title.

[And the title of ‘Pierrot’ will be changed to ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’ This is because ‘Henry Gordon,’ the protagonist of ‘Pierrot,’ will be the first villain in our ‘Cinematic Universe.’ We will try to arrange a briefing as soon as possible with more details. Thank you.]

This concluded the explanation of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ project, which ‘Columbia Studios’ has staked everything on. It wasn’t a long post, but it included all the key points. As ‘Columbia Studios’ is one of the ‘Big Five’ in Hollywood, this post, which was just uploaded on their official SNS, quickly garnered an enormous number of comments. There were many in English, but also many in other languages.

-Oh! A Cinematic Universe? Is this for real?

-I don’t know how vast the world-building is, but I’m quite excited? A hero series!

-I know what you’re aiming for… So, who has been cast as the lead in Pierrot?

-When are you going to announce the male lead for Pierrot, the start of that huge project? It’ll probably be Chris Hartnett anyway.

-Okay, I’m starting to get a little excited, but also worried? Several movie studios have tried the cinematic universe, but they failed.

-Henry Gordon is the protagonist’s name? I saw ‘Beneficial Evil,’ and I think Kang Woo-jin would be good too.

-The other actors who were nominated are too high-profile, and it’ll be hard for Kang Woo-jin to take on the character that starts the cinematic universe project.

-Cinematic Universe! Columbia has made a huge decision!

·
·
·

The reactions from the international public grew explosively. Of course, the comments often mentioned who was cast as the lead in ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ and Kang Woo-jin’s name.

Overall, there was a feeling of curiosity and anticipation.

Around this time, in the medium-sized meeting room of ‘Columbia Studios,’ all the production staff of ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ including Director Ahn Ga-bok, were looking at Kang Woo-jin.

“I don’t mind doing it right now.”

They were newly amazed by Kang Woo-jin’s ‘no backing down’ attitude. Even though the global interest was skyrocketing, he had no hesitation at all. The executive producer, slightly surprised, said.

“Okay… I understand. We’ll finalize the announcement for three days from now and send you the schedule.”

“Yes.”

In fact, the reason ‘Columbia Studios’ moved up the announcement of the ‘Henry Gordon’ role was, of course, because of the unusual buzz created by ‘Beneficial Evil.’ Kang Woo-jin was already the center of global attention for several reasons, and the release of ‘Beneficial Evil’ amplified that interest tenfold.

There was no way ‘Columbia Studios’ would miss out on such powerful publicity and marketing.

In other words, they were getting help from Kang Woo-jin.

Even ‘Columbia Studios,’ a dinosaur movie company in Hollywood. Probably. No, 100% if they announced it in the current situation, both Kang Woo-jin and ‘Pierrot’ would enjoy tremendous promotional effects.

Then, the executive producer spoke briefly with Director Ahn Ga-bok and changed the subject.

“And secondly, ‘Pierrot’ will be renamed ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’”

“······”

There was no significant change in Kang Woo-jin’s concept-heavy face as he listened silently. This was the same internally.

‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’? Doesn’t sound bad.’

Kang Woo-jin liked the changed title. But the producer’s explanation wasn’t over.

“And ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ is set to be the movie that marks the beginning of the vast ‘Cinematic Universe.’”

‘Cinematic Universe’? A question mark popped up in Kang Woo-jin’s head. He didn’t show it, but he wondered what they were talking about. On the other hand, Choi Sung-gun, sitting next to Woo-jin, suddenly widened his eyes.

‘This is crazy! A ‘Cinematic Universe’?? Is this for real??!’

He could guess what the female producer across from him was about to say. As if proving his guess, the producer continued the briefing.

“The ‘Cinematic Universe’ I just mentioned is a huge project that ‘Columbia Studios’ has been preparing for several years, and…”

The explanation that the executives had given to Director Ahn Ga-bok in the past, the same content that was uploaded on the official SNS at the same time, was being articulated by her in an organized manner. The more he listened, the wider Choi Sung-gun’s eyes became.

‘…Is this, is this real?? Our Woo-jin is the first villain in that project that ‘Columbia Studios’ is staking their lives on?? This, this is more than a scoop!!’

Choi Sung-gun predicted that everyone would have the same expression as him when all of this was announced to the world. The director of the movie that marks the beginning of such a huge project is Ahn Ga-bok, and the male lead is Kang Woo-jin? Moreover, being the first villain in the ‘Cinematic Universe’ implies that Kang Woo-jin will continue to appear in other series.

He didn’t know what the world-building would be like, what movies and characters would come out in the future, but Kang Woo-jin was included in that group.

It was no wonder that Choi Sung-gun’s heart was racing like crazy.

‘He’s come this far in just three years—it’s absurd.’

As he glanced at Kang Woo-jin, who was sitting next to him with a nonchalant expression.

“You will participate not only in this ‘Pierrot’ but also in several series movies belonging to the ‘Cinematic Universe’ in the future. Mr. Woo-jin, are you okay with that?”

She was asking for his opinion. As she had said at the beginning, Kang Woo-jin had the right to refuse this situation. But Woo-jin’s answer came quickly.

“No problem.”

He understood that the stakes were high and that a lot was going on. But those things weren’t scary to him. More than anything, ‘Pierrot’ was EX+ level. He wasn’t stupid enough to miss an EX+ level opportunity because he was scared. That was his mindset.

‘Anyway, it’ll be fun.’

As soon as Kang Woo-jin made his decision.

-Swish.

The expressions of the executive producer, Director Ahn Ga-bok, and the executives of ‘Columbia Studios’ brightened. It seemed they had been worried to some extent.

Soon.

“Shall we proceed with the contract then?”

The time had come for full-fledged negotiations, agreements, and discussions. The contract prepared by ‘Columbia Studios,’ the expected schedule, and various other materials appeared.

About an hour later.

‘Wow—damn it!!! Is this, is this for real??!!’

Kang Woo-jin’s eyes widened as if they would burst. Of course, only internally. The reason was simple.

‘How much is this!!!’

Because the amount of money being exchanged was far beyond his imagination.

Meanwhile.

While Kang Woo-jin was negotiating with ‘Columbia Studios,’ the foreign press was quite excited about ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ and the ‘Cinematic Universe.’

『CNM/‘Columbia Studios’ Suddenly Announces Large-Scale Project: “Cinematic Universe, We Have Been Preparing for Years”』

『BBX/‘Pierrot,’ Which Will Be the Starting Point of the ‘Cinematic Universe,’ Changes Its Title to ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’』

『LA TIME/‘Columbia Studios’ to Showcase Hero Series Cinematic Universe, ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ Is Its Beginning!』

It was partly because ‘Columbia Studios’ had dropped a huge bombshell without any prior notice, but also because the content of the bombshell was quite provocative.

『ABY/Cinematic Universes Have Often Failed in Hollywood, Can ‘Columbia Studios’ Succeed?』

『NT/Pay Attention to Who Will Play the First Villain in ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ the Beginning of a Large-Scale Project』

This caused a stir in Hollywood. The interest of the foreign press and the international public increased, and they were also curious about which actor had been cast as the male lead in ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’

Therefore, the names of the candidates, including Kang Woo-jin and Chris Hartnett, were frequently mentioned.

This news quickly spread to Korea as well.

『[Overseas Topic] ‘Pierrot,’ Which Kang Woo-jin Auditioned For, Was the Beginning of a Large-Scale Cinematic Universe Project』

『Could Kang Woo-jin Become the First Villain in ‘Columbia Studios’ Cinematic Universe?』

『Hero Series? What Does the Vast Worldview of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ Announced by ‘Columbia Studios’ Mean?』

The movie that Kang Woo-jin participated in through auditions and screen tests was the beginning of a huge project? There was no way the domestic media would stay silent.

The public opinion was the same.

The movie ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ threw a bombshell not only in Hollywood but also in Korea, Japan, and other parts of the world, and the international public expressed numerous opinions, including anticipation and concern.

And then night came to Korea.

But.

-LOLOLOL This is crazy. If Kang Woo-jin gets cast in Pierrot, does that mean he’ll be the first villain in the cinematic universe, including his Hollywood debut???

-↑Will that happen LOLOLOL The Hollywood actors who auditioned with him are so high-profile, he probably got eliminated LOLOLOL

-But it’s still amazing that a Korean actor participated in an audition for such a project.

-That’s right, he auditioned with ultra-high-profile Hollywood actors LOLOLOL But Director Ahn Ga-bok has truly become a legend.

-A Korean director for such a crazy-sized project… I’m so proud…

The ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ issue showed no signs of dying down.

Three days later, LA.

The time was late morning. In a large hall of a hotel near the city center, among several five-star hotels in LA, there were many foreign reporters for some reason.

Just by roughly counting, there were over 100 people.

The foreign reporters were sitting at long tables lined up in a row. In front of them were all camera cannons or laptops. There was also a table on the stage at the front of the hall, where about 10 people could sit.

Meanwhile, the foreign reporters could be heard whispering.

“A ‘Cinematic Universe,’ I haven’t heard any rumors about it.”

“That means ‘Columbia Studios’ must have been working on it in secret.”

“If you listen to the people involved, ‘Columbia Studios’ is staking their lives on this project.”

“Of course, they would, especially since ‘Cinematic Universes’ cost a lot of money. They’ll be putting everything into this ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’”

“Since the beginning is half the battle, they’ll be more focused than ever. But the director of that project is a Korean director—I can already smell the challenge.”

Familiar words were frequently heard. The reason was simple. This was a press conference prepared by ‘Columbia Studios.’ It was a press conference in name only; in reality, it was no different from an explanation session for the ‘Cinematic Universe’ project that had recently been announced. They had gathered over a hundred reporters to continue the buzz.

“But did they say the male lead is ‘Henry Gordon’? The protagonist of ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’ They’ve already had auditions—has the actor been confirmed yet? I hope they tell us today.”

“‘Columbia Studios’ called him the first villain to announce the start of a huge project. With a project of this size, it must be difficult to choose the first actor.”

Soon, the names of Hollywood actors spread among the hundred or so foreign reporters.

“Who will it be? Tom Brando? Jack Gable?”

“Both are good actors, but Chris Hartnett is the highest profile. I think it’ll be him?”

“What about Kang Woo-jin?”

“…Well, wouldn’t his chances be the lowest?”

Of course, Kang Woo-jin’s name was also mentioned.

“Even if Kang Woo-jin has become an international issue with ‘Beneficial Evil,’ would ‘Columbia Studios’ entrust him with a project they’re staking their lives on? He has the shortest career among the actors.”

“It’s amazing that Kang Woo-jin is even involved in this.”

“Hmm, I guess. Anyway, I think it’ll be Chris Hartnett. He’s outstanding in all aspects, including acting, recognition, and personal life.”

At that moment.

-Swish.

Foreigners entered the stage at the front of the hall, where only reporters were present. The executive producer and some key staff of ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ three executives from ‘Columbia Studios,’ and.

“······”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, with a serious face. The appearance of the main production staff of ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ caused the hundred or so foreign reporters to.

-Flash! Flash! Flash!

Press the shutters of their camera cannons. The hall was soon filled with a crazy amount of flashes. Then.

“Hello.”

The executive producer, sitting at the table on the stage, greeted the gathered reporters appropriately.

“Before we begin, there is something to announce.”

Murmuring. The eyes of the reporters who were pressing the shutters widened slightly. Regardless, the executive producer continued.

“Recently, the actor for the male lead ‘Henry Gordon’ in ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ has been confirmed. I will start by introducing the actor.”

The widened eyes of the hundred or so foreign reporters held a sense of ‘jackpot!’ It was something they hadn’t expected.

‘Who is it? Chris Hartnett?’

‘Chris Hartnett is the most likely, but it could be Tom Brando or Jack Gable. Anyway, I’m glad I came.’

‘Come out already!’

‘Who is it?? Who will be the first villain in the ‘Cinematic Universe’ project?’

Soon, the producer turned his head to the right.

“Please come up.”

He was calling the actor that everyone was waiting for.

And then.

-Swish.

A man with a nonchalant face appeared on the stage. He was wearing a brown blazer over his black hair.

“······”

As soon as the man with a strong cynical aura stepped onto the stage, the eyes of the hundred or so reporters.

“Huh?”

“Um?”

“······?”

Were filled with question marks. Dumbfounded faces. Regardless, the black-haired man.

No, Kang Woo-jin.

“Nice to meet you.”

Sat next to Director Ahn Ga-bok and introduced himself in fluent English with a low tone.

“I am Kang Woo-jin, the actor who will play ‘Henry Gordon’ in ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’”