Promotional material for Train to Busan Photo: Maoyan

Following in the footsteps of various epidemics through the years, there have invariably been some thought-proving and relevant works that have graced the world's film landscape. Yet no noteworthy Chinese films appeared after the country's SARS outbreak in 2003. Which begs the question: Will there be any films produced after the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak ends?

The Cassandra Crossing in 1977, about a deadly virus planted by terrorists on a transcontinental train, first came to people's attention following a major epidemic in Vietnam during the 1960s and early 1970s. In 2003, a wave of virus-related films appeared after the SARS outbreak, Infection by Japan, Resident Evil: Apocalypse from the US and SARS Wars from Thailand, just to name a few.

In 2011, following the spread of the H5N1 avian flu and the swine flu (H1N1), Steven Soderbergh brought his film Contagion to theaters, a film which has made an unexpected comeback amid the current COVID-19 outbreak. According to media reports, at the end of January, the thriller had been climbing the charts and still is among the top films in the rental charts for Apple TV app.

Promotional material for Flu Photo: Maoyan

Meanwhile in China, since the COVID-19 outbreak, South Korean films Flu, directed by Kim Sung-su in 2013, and Train to Busan by Yeon Sang-ho in 2016 have seen a resurgence in popularity.

Between January 20 and February 18, the daily average views for Flu increased 49 times compared to the previous month, according to data released by Chinese electronic giant Hisense on February 26. The recent release of posters for Peninsula, the sequel to the zombie-virus flick Train to Busan, also ignited rampant discussion online in China. Many Chinese moviegoers expressed their anticipation for the film that was originally set to premiere this summer in China.

"The first one made me cry! I'm sure to have stronger feelings after watching the second after COVID-19 ends. Looking forward to it!" one netizen wrote in a post on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

"If there's no Chinese film on COVID-19, South Korea will probably shoot one," posted Duliyu, a film critic with more than 8 million followers on Sina Weibo on Sunday. Many joined the discussion, saying the styles most likely would be distinctively different between films on COVID-19 made by Chinese and South Korean studios.

"I think China will make films on the epidemic for sure, and they will be different [from South Korean films]. Yet audiences' tastes can be diverse and divided. What missions and values people attach to literature and storytellers can be very different as well," one film critic told the Global Times.

Some netizens are pointing to the success of Flu and Train to Busan to highlight the strengths of epidemic or virus-themed films, which tend to dark and thrilling. Some pointed out that China has the ability to produce some great works such as Wuhan Diary 2020, a documentary video series that has gone viral in China. Produced by a vlogger and freelancer who goes by the username "Spider Monkey Bread," the heart-warming film records the lives of ordinary people under lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter of COVID-19. The series also ranks among the top 3 most watched documentaries according to data by Hisense.

There is also another way of thinking - a collaboration between China and South Korea. In addition to the fusion of different ideas and perspectives, the two are also able to bring different technical expertise to the table. Given Chinese blockbusters such as Lost in Russia's experiment releasing online during the epidemic, there are still many new avenues to explore when it comes to collaboration.