UPDATE: Werner Herzog has joined the voice cast of Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming hand-drawn animated feature, according to Variety. It’s still set to go into production this summer.
This wouldn’t be the first time Herzog has lent his distinct voice for an animated project. He’s already appeared in episodes of “The Simpsons,” “The Boondocks” as well as Adult Swim’s “Rick and Morty” and “Metalocalypse.”
EARLIER (02.12.24): Korean media is reporting that director Bong Joon-ho's next project, an animated film about deep sea creatures, will start production during the second half of 2024.
The still untitled film is set to become the most expensive production in Korean film history, and Sony Pictures is rumoured to have hopped onboard with plans for a worldwide release. The cost, translated into USD, would be that of around $52 million.
The film, which will be directed by Bong, is a story about the relationship between marine life and humans, including deep-sea fish, and is being produced with full CG animation by Force Creative Party, a Korean VFX company that has worked in the past with Bong.
Bong has been working on the screenplay since 2018. The script was completed in January 2021. We don’t have any plot details, and the filmmaker has admitted that he wants to keep the story secret. What we do know is that “Parasite” and “Burning cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo will be in charge of the visual lighting
Bong plans to spend the first half of 2024 traveling back and forth between Korea and the U.S. as he is deep in post-production work for his upcoming “Mickey 17,” which recently had its March release delayed, but might still premiere at Cannes in May.
The report goes on to state that Bong was planning to make another live-action film after “Mickey 17,” but then decided that he’d rather tackle the animated project first.
The Korean auteur is known for critically-acclaimed films such as “Snowpiercer,” “Mother” “The Host,” “Memories of Murder” and the Oscar-winning “Parasite.”
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.