A24 tackles destiny in directorial debut of The Wheel of Time writer
Past Lives is a romantic drama film written and directed by Celine Song for A24. The film marks the directorial debut for Song who was previously a staff writer on the Prime Video fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Past Lives explores the Korean concept of "inyeon", which encompasses notions of providence, fate and the intricate ways people are intertwined in each other's lives. The lead male role of Hae Sung was originally set to be portrayed by Parasite's Choi Woo-shik, however he was ultimately replaced by Teo Yoo.
David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, and Pamela Koffler serve as producers while Killer Films, 2AM, and CJ ENM are the production companies behind the film. Past Lives features a musical score crafted by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen, with Keith Fraase contributing as the editor and Shabier Kirchner as the cinematographer. Kirchner previously worked with Academy Award winning director Steve McQueen on his five-part anthology series called Small Axe in 2020.
Greta Lee stars as Nora while Seung Ah Moon portrays her younger self. Lee has previously appeared in a number of high-profile roles including Russian Doll and The Morning Show. Teo Yoo works alongside her as Hae Sung while his younger self is played by Seung Min Yim. Yoo previously worked with Park Chan-wook in 2022's Decision to Leave. The supporting cast for Past Lives includes John Magaro as Arthur, Ji Hye Yoon as Nora's mom, Choi Won-young as Nora's dad, Min Young Ahn as Hae Sung's mom, Jonica T. Gibbs as Janice, Emily Cass McDonnell as Rachel, Federico Rodriguez as Robert, Conrad Schott as Peter and Kristen Sieh as Heather.