Bong Joon-ho is a record-breaker. Parasite was the movie of 2019. No one anticipated its success, but in retrospect, wasn’t it a bit obvious Bong was the sort of director who could achieve that crossover of critical and commercial success? Were Okja, Snowpiercer and The Host not proof of that talent and ability to merge art and accessibility?

Now, in 2024, Bong looks set to make his next feature film. As you can imagine, everyone is keeping their eye open for this one. The film, Mickey 17, is based on  Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel “Mickey7,”  and will be an American film starring Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo and, is set for release by Warner Bros. Pictures on March 29, 2024.

Bong has for a long time had an interest in sci-fi areas, but this is his most overtly sci-fi film yet, set in the distant ice world Niflheim and centring around the expendable Mickey 17, who is regenerated with each death with most of his memories intact, presenting a compelling story about identity and humanity’s future.

The film was announced in January 2022, and filming was done in August to December of that year. It’s not hard to get excited about this film. Bong is known for bringing acute social commentary into his works, and if this film works out, it could be a major sci-fi work. The film’s narrative, exploring the concept of expendable employees in a futuristic setting, is bound to resonate with contemporary themes of disposability and identity in the face of technological advancement (AI!). 

Release Date: March 29, 2024. (Could change)

Will It Be Good?

What’s Bong’s weakest film? That’s not an easy thing to answer. It’s probably his debut, Barking Dogs Never Bite or Okja, his Netflix film. Even then, neither of those are bad, merely serviceable. Bong is a master filmmaker, and while it’s always possible for people to stumble, there aren’t any signs of that at the moment.

His English language films have been weaker on average, which could be a worry, but he also made these films ata times when he wasn’t as established as a major filmmaker, meaning he was likely under more pressure. Now, as an Oscar-winning director, he should be given free reign over the movie’s destiny. 

Will It Be Worth Watching? Yes