"Somebody had to bring this long series to a close, and I didn't want to shy away from that burden. The fear was only temporary. The thing I cared about the most while filming this movie was making it well and communicating with the audience."

Actor Byun Yohan is bringing the grand finale to the "Tazza" franchise, which has spanned two decades. Following Goni in Part 1 (Cho Seung-woo), Daegil in Part 2 (Choi Seung-hyun), and Il-chul in Part 3 (Park Jeong-min), he takes on the role of the fourth high-stakes player, Taeyoung, to showcase a dynamic journey through a gambling world filled with friendship and betrayal.

Based on Huh Young-man's hit manhwa of the same name, "Tazza" began its legendary run in 2006 under director Choi Dong-hoon. Starring Cho Seung-woo, Kim Hye-soo, Baek Yoon-sik, Yoo Hai-jin, and Kim Eung-soo, the film was released during the Chuseok holiday season in 2006 and drew 5.69 million moviegoers nationwide. Beyond its box office success, it generated iconic catchphrases like "I'm the kind of woman who went to Ehwa!" and "Double or nothing," receiving immense love. It was a masterpiece that used the fierce gambling tables and bloody battles as an allegory for life, seasoned with satire and humor.

Built upon this solid original work, the series continued with "Tazza: The Hidden Card" (2014) and "Tazza: One Eyed Jack" (2019), and now the final chapter will be brought to a close by the fourth installment, "Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub".

Byun Yohan, who stars as the protagonist Jang Taeyoung, attended a press conference held at CGV Yongsan in Seoul on the morning of the 18th and explained, "The original 'Tazza' was released in 2006 and received an incredible amount of love, and I loved it too. Starting with Goni in Part 1, Daegil in Part 2, and Il-chul in Part 3, the previous films shared a single universe. However, 'Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub' is an entirely standalone story. Even audiences who haven't seen the previous series can easily jump in and focus on our own story."

The character played by Byun Yohan, Jang Taeyoung, achieves success in the online casino business, but loses everything due to a betrayal by his friend Park Taeyoung and prepares for revenge.

Selecting "human desire" as the key theme running through the work, Byun Yohan expressed his confidence, saying, "It deals with very fundamental subjects like desire, betrayal, and instinct. It will be a movie that viewers of all ages can thoroughly enjoy."

Since the friendship and betrayal between Jang Taeyoung and Park Taeyoung form the central axis of the film, the on-screen chemistry between Byun Yohan and Roh Jae-won is also generating massive interest. Byun Yohan praised his co-star, saying, "The Park Taeyoung created by Roh Jae-won has a 200 percent synchronization rate with the character in Huh Young-man's original work." Roh Jae-won responded, "Actor Byun Yohan was Jang Taeyoung himself to me. Watching his acting made me feel jealous, and I wanted to be like him, so I even copied him in secret. He was the crucial key that allowed me to play Park Taeyoung."

Previous installments of "Tazza" were all released during the Chuseok season and achieved meaningful box office results, giving rise to the slogan "Tazza for Chuseok."

Expressing strong confidence in the project, Byun Yohan shared, "We are coming to greet you for Chuseok. While the slogan 'Tazza for Chuseok' is important, we actors truly acted with deep affection for one another, put everything on the line, and made this with the determination to risk our lives. We held back neither our hearts, our bodies, nor our time. From the moment we cranked up until today, we did our absolute best. We are betting everything on our movie."

The film is directed by Choi Kook-hee, who previously helmed "Default" and "Life Is Beautiful". Director Choi stated, "'Tazza' has traditionally been released during Chuseok. Because of the perception that 'Tazza belongs to Chuseok,' we worked backward from the schedule to hit the Chuseok release window."

He continued, "It is an honor and I feel a great sense of responsibility to take on the final project that ties together 20 years. I believe our film could only come to exist because of the three preceding works. I definitely want to send my regards as a director to the senior directors who came before me."

"Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub" will hit theaters on September 23, one day before the start of this year's Chuseok holiday.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)