Bong Joon-ho's "Mickey 17" to open in Korea on Jan. 28 next year

"Mickey 17" cinematographer Darius Khondji (left) and director Bong Joon-ho are seen during the production of "Mickey 17" in London. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Moviegoers will have to wait a little bit more to finally see Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming work "Mickey 17."

The movie distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said Thursday that Bong’s first new work in six years will first release in theaters here on Jan. 28, 2025, before opening in other countries around the globe.

“Mickey 17,” which completed production in England in December 2022, will be Bong’s first movie since “Parasite.”

The film was originally planned for release on March 29 but due to monthslong deadlock between Hollywood studios and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) since July last year, the film went through a longer than expected time for post-production work.

There are expectations about whether the film will also premiere during the 77th Cannes Film Festival, which is slated for May. It has not been revealed whether this work of Bong's has been submitted to Cannes.

"Mickey 17" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

The movie is based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 sci-fi novel “Mickey7,” which tells the story of Mickey7, an expendable employee who is sent on a dangerous mission to colonize an ice world called Niflheim.

Bong penned the script for the upcoming film, and is producing it under his Offscreen banner with Kate Street Pictures’ Dooho Choi and co-producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner from Plan B.

The "Twilight" series’ Robert Pattinson plays the lead role. The cast also includes Oscar winner Steven Yeun (“Minari,” “Beef”) and other Hollywood stars including: Naomi Ackie (“I Wanna Dance with Somebody”), Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) and Mark Ruffalo (“Avengers” series).

The creative team behind the camera includes: Oscar-nominated director of photography Darius Khondji (“Okja,” “Evita”), production designer Fiona Crombie (“The Favourite,” “Cruella”), editor Yang Jin-mo (“Parasite”), costume designer Catherine George (“Okja,” “Snowpiercer”) and visual effects supervisor Dan Glass (“The Matrix” franchise). The music is composed by Jung Jae-il (“Parasite,” “Squid Game”).

By Kim Da-sol(ddd@heraldcorp.com)