Last year, and while his much-delayed “Mickey 17” was already in the can, Bong Joon-ho started production on an animated feature.
The untitled project is the most expensive production in Korean film history. The costs, translated into USD, would be that of around $60M. Sony Pictures is rumored to be circling the project with plans for a worldwide release.
Bong is now telling Korea’s JTBC News that, although “halfway done,” his next film is only eyeing a 2027 release date, or maybevat the earliest, “late 2026.”
I’m working really hard on it, with a lot of people. We are currently working on it with the goal of releasing it in 2027. Whenever I watch animated films, I see two or three directors credited, but I’m trying to do everything by myself, and it’s taking time.
The story is set in Simahe, a dark and gloomy place, with “cute but very lonely characters.” Apparently, Bong hand-drew the entire storyboard of the animated film which is loosely inspired by Claire Nouvian’s French novel The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss.
Werner Herzog recently joined the voice cast of Bong’s hand-drawn animated feature, according to Variety. No plot details have been revealed at this time, but the film is said to tackle deep sea creatures, and the relationship between marine life and humans. The filmmaker has admitted that he wants to keep the story secret.
Bong has been working on the screenplay since 2018. The script was completed in January 2021. What we do know is that “Parasite” and “Burning cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo will be in charge of the visual lighting.
For now, Bong’s “Mickey 17, which will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival,” is set for March 7 release in the United States.
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.