Bong Joon-Ho Insists His Version of ‘Mickey 17’ Tested Higher, and NOT Warner Bros’ Cut

A recent report from Puck‘s Kim Masters described dire test-screening reactions for “Mickey 17” in 2023 and 2024 and how Bong dismissed Warners’ warning signs of the film “testing badly” by saying that his Oscar winner Parasite didn’t test well either.

Meanwhile, Masters claimed that Warners had come up with their alternative cut of “Mickey 17” that tested 10 points higher than Bong’s. However, the director had a final cut clause in his contract and got his way.

A source with knowledge of the drama later told me that Masters’ piece had a few falsehoods. They claimed that Warner Bros’ ‘Mickey’ cut did NOT test better than Bong’s and that this could just be a case of the studio trying to get ahead in the blame game.

Bong is now insisting on a Korean podcast that his version of “Mickey 17” tested higher than the alternative cut that Warner Bros. created. He's calling bullsh*t on the report. He's saying the report is “unfounded” and the better version of the film was released.

I believe Bong. Studios are prone to get ahead of a film’s failure by trying to blame everyone but themselves. However, what seems to be confirmed with Bong’s comments is that there indeed were two competing cuts of ‘Mickey.’

Last June, there was a report claiming that “Mickey 17” getting its release delayed to 2025 had to do with Bong fighting hard for final cut. Bong later tackled the report by saying his contract specifically stipulated that he had full control over the editing process and that he had submitted his completed cut in November 2023.

“Mickey 17” was a huge gamble for Warner Bros, with a budget rumored close to $140M, and given the film has only earned $33M domestically, Warners is shipping this one off to VOD next week.