Netflix has announced Parasyte: Tamiya, a new live-action series set in Japan that will expand the world established by Yeon Sang-ho's Parasyte: The Grey. The series is already in post-production and is set to premiere on Netflix in 2027, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Yeon developed the story and co-wrote all episodes with his regular collaborator Ryu Yong-jae. Wowpoint, the production company behind Yeon's previous work including The Grey, is producing. Directors Kakimoto Kensaku and Nakagawa Kazuhiro are sharing duties behind the camera. Yeon said he chose them precisely because of their contrasting styles, telling Variety, "I chose these two directors precisely because they have such different styles, and I had high hopes for a collaboration between them."
Shioli Kutsuna, known internationally for her recurring role in the Deadpool franchise, stars as Ryoko Tamiya. In the original manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki, Tamiya is a parasite that takes over the body of a high school teacher. She begins as a violent and predatory creature but gradually begins to question whether coexistence with humans might give her species a better chance of survival than conflict. Kutsuna plays the character across three distinct states: the original human, the parasite after it seizes control, and the evolving being caught between both identities.
The role pushed the actress in ways she had not experienced before. Kutsuna said, "Ryoko Tamiya is the most challenging role I have ever played in my acting career." She added, in comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter, "During the six months I spent living as Tamiya, I experienced many emotions I had never encountered before."
Yeon has spoken about why Tamiya is central to what makes the original Parasyte meaningful. "Her struggles over the nature of her own existence are what elevate the original Parasyte from a simple hero-based manga aimed at kids to something deeper," he said. "I think the anguish she experiences is the essence of Parasyte."
Parasyte: The Grey, Yeon's previous entry in the franchise, spent four weeks on Netflix's Global Top 10 Non-English TV list following its 2024 release and reached number one in 34 countries. That series transplanted Iwaaki's source material to a South Korean setting. Tamiya is said to return more directly to the original manga's Japanese roots while telling the story from a perspective the prior adaptations did not explore.
Netflix Japan's live action creative manager Sato Yoshihiro framed the new series in contemporary terms. "What makes a human?" he said in a statement. "Can we coexist with beings that are different from us? These questions posed by Parasyte more than 30 years ago feel much more pressing for our modern society that has placed non-sentient AI at all of our fingertips."
Yeon has become one of Netflix's most consistent collaborators in East Asia, with credits including Hellbound, Jung_E, The Bequeathed, and the recently launched The Human Vapor.
Parasyte: Tamiya is set to stream on Netflix in 2027.
