Amazon's Butterfly - Everything You Need To Know
Amazon Studios may not be the first streaming service viewers think of, but they've been churning out compelling, original stories for several years now. Critical darlings "Fleabag," "Catastrophe," and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" have all demonstrated Amazon Studio's willingness to take risks when it comes to good writing and live-action adaptations. Their foray into the action genre with "Reacher" and the irreverent superhero series "The Boys" have proven that staying close to the book or comic source material will draw in fans.
More recently, they've found success venturing further into the world of spy thrillers with the release of "The Terminal List" and the international hit "Citadel." Called "a truly global phenomenon" by Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke to TVLine, "Citadel" has already scored a Season 2. Given this, it's not surprising that the studio has greenlit "Butterfly," another promising spy thriller based on the graphic novel series created by Arash Amel.
When will Butterfly be released?
It's unknown when "Butterfly" will be released due to the Writers Guild of America strike. Now in its fourth week, the writers strike has halted most new development of scripted series and films across the board, not just at Amazon Studios. There are a few exceptions, such as the second season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," which has continued production with non-writing executive producers, directors, and crew.
In February, Variety announced that "Butterfly" began development at Amazon. The six-episode series is being produced by Amazon Studios and Daniel Dae Kim's production company 3AD, as well as Boom! Studios, who published Arash Amel's "Butterfly" graphic novel. Kim will not only executive produce the series but is also set to star in it. It will air on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world and feature English and Korean dialogue.
What is the plot of Butterfly?
According to Boom! Studios website, the series will follow "David Jung [Daniel Dae Kim], an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea, whose life is blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a deadly, sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him."
"Butterfly" is based on Arash Amel's 2015 graphic novel of the same name, written by him and Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by Antonio Fuso and Stefano Simeone. Amel, who also wrote Disney's "Rise" and 2018's "A Private War," will also be an executive producer on the series via The Amel Company.
Ken Woodruff is lined up as "Butterfly's" showrunner and co-creator, along with novelist Steph Cha. Woodruff is best known for writing and executive producing "The Mentalist" and "Gotham" and creating the 2019 series "The Enemy Within." Cha wrote the mystery "Your House Will Pay: A Novel" and the Juniper Song mystery series. "Butterfly" will be Steph Cha's first foray into television. Both Cha and Woodruff are also executive producers of the show.
Who is starring in Butterfly?
Daniel Dae Kim is the only cast member listed so far for "Butterfly." Kim will star in the show and be executive producing with his company 3AD in a first-look deal with Amazon Studios. "Ken [Woodruff] and Steph [Cha] have come up with a compelling series with truly unique characters, and having it be an international story set in Korea makes it even more meaningful to me. With Stephen Christy, BOOM! Studios and the Amel Company, we've assembled a stellar creative team, and 3AD is proud to have this be its inaugural effort with Amazon Studios," Kim said in a statement back in February.
Kim is best known for his breakout role as Jin-Soo Kwon in "Lost" and Chin Ho Kelly in "Hawaii Five-O." Kim left "Hawaii Five-O" after CBS wouldn't give him and Grace Park equal pay with their white co-stars, Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan. Recent roles have included "Hellboy," "New Amsterdam," and a recurring role as Dr. Jackson Han in "The Good Doctor," which 3AD produces. He is also set to appear in Netflix's live-action adaptation of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" as Fire Lord Ozai.