Actor Yoo Ah-in, one of South Korea's most acclaimed actors of his generation and the star of the film “Burning” and the Netflix series “Hellbound,” is set to return to the big screen in the occult thriller “Vampir” (tentative English title), and a newly released photo from the film's script-reading session shows him sporting a markedly different look as his comeback takes shape.

The production team behind “Vampir” announced Tuesday that the project has finalized its cast — including Yoo, Lee Sung-min, Lee Jun-hyuk, Kim Do-i, Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Hyun-wook — and entered production this month. A release date was not announced.

An occult thriller, “Vampir” follows an unidentified contract killer who tracks down a mysterious pagan group at the request of a clergyman. The genre has a strong box-office track record in Korean cinema, with previous hits including “The Priests” (2015) and “Exhuma” (2024).

The film has drawn heightened attention because it will mark Yoo's first big-screen project since he became embroiled in a drug-related controversy and went on hiatus.

Rumors that Yoo would join the cast had circulated since last year. At the time, the actor's agency distanced itself from the reports, stating that his appearance in the film had not been decided. As recently as last month, film distributor NEW said it remained unclear whether Yoo would appear in the film. With his casting now officially confirmed after a year of speculation, Yoo's return to cinema is set to begin with “Vampir.”

In a photo from the script-reading session released by the company, Yoo appeared focused on the script, wearing a white shirt with his hair neatly styled and bangs over his forehead.

The look stands in contrast to his most recent public appearance at a preview of the film “Hope” last month, when he wore a baseball cap pulled low, his hair falling to the nape of his neck with gray strands visible beneath the cap. In the newly released photo, the actor appears without gray hair, having presumably dyed it ahead of filming.

Yoo came under investigation in 2023 on suspicion of illegal drug use, in a case that drew intense media scrutiny in South Korea. He was subsequently indicted and, in September 2024, sentenced to one year in prison by a lower court and taken into custody. In February 2025, an appeals court reduced his sentence to a one-year prison term suspended for two years, leading to his release. A suspended sentence means the prison term is not served unless he commits another offense during the two-year probation period. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence on July 3 of that year, finalizing the verdict and bringing the case to a close.

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.