MANILA – Instead of feeling pressured, Song Joong-ki admits to being more excited over starring in “Space Sweepers,” widely regarded as South Korea’s first “space blockbuster.”

“To have the title of ‘Korea’s first space blockbuster,’ it’s almost like having the Korean flag on our chest,” Song said in a press conference on Tuesday.

“We didn’t want to be pressured or burdened by that but I think a lot of [the burden] was laid on the director’s shoulders. On the contrary, I think I was more excited. I felt like a child again,” he added.

“Space Sweepers,” which is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on February 5, marks Song’s return to the big screen after nearly 4 years. His last movie project was “The Battleship Island” in 2017.

The film, set in outer space in the year 2092, follows the crew of spaceship Victory who live off salvaging space debris. They soon find a human-like robot wanted by space guards and decide to demand for a ransom in exchange.

“We’re kind of an unusual crew. You could say that we’re misfits and we come across a special event and we end up saving the world,” Song said.

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The 35-year-old actor, who gained wider recognition for his role in the TV drama “Descendants of the Sun,” said “Space Sweepers” reminded him of the 1985 film “The Goonies.”

“When I first read the script, it reminded me of when I was a young kid… ['The Goonies'] was such an amazing adventure film and that’s exactly how I felt [about 'Space Sweepers']. It was yet another amazing adventure but only taking place in outer space,” he said.

In “Space Sweepers,” Song stars alongside Kim Tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu and Yoo Hae-jin. English actor Richard Armitage, who played Thorin in “The Hobbit” franchise, joins them in the film.

Kim, who starred in the critically acclaimed 2016 film “The Handmaiden,” said she was looking forward to seeing other sci-fi films produced in Korea.

“I hope that ‘Space Sweepers’ started something. I’m very proud,” she said.

For Jin, acting in “Space Sweepers” was like “playing for the nation, playing with the flag on my chest as an athlete.”

Director Jo Sung-hee, who worked with Song in the 2012 box office hit “A Werewolf Boy,” shared that he came up with idea for “Space Sweepers” a decade ago.

“I heard about these stories about space and space sweepers from a friend. So this was an idea we tried to develop since then,” he said.

Song added that he even heard of “Space Sweepers” while working on “A Werewolf Boy.”

Challenging scene

For Song, one of the most challenging scenes that was shot for the film was “the very first scene where I am flying through space.”

“It had to do with loss of gravity so that was quite something new and challenging. But again, amazing preparation went into this scene and it was really satisfying,” he said.

Yoo shared that his role — a robot — was also challenging because it required him to do motion-capture acting.

“At first, I thought ‘I’ll get to the set and I’ll be able to do what I always do,’ but it was quite, quite challenging,” Yoo said.

“I had all types of sensors on my body attached and I had to wear these tights and then we had to set the zero points for each scene. But all in all, it was a new experience and it was fun,” he said.

Kim admitted to feeling sad that “Space Sweepers” would not have a theatrical release but said she was still “happy and grateful” that the movie can be streamed through Netflix.

She urged viewers to “pay more attention to the sound effects.”

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