Bong Joon Ho Confirms ‘Mickey 17’ Delay Was Due to Final Cut: ‘It Was a Long Process’
Bong Joon Ho wants fans to rest assured knowing that “Mickey 17” will be his director’s cut.
The Oscar winner told Empire that he had final cut for the film built into his Warner Bros. contract. “Mickey 17” was first announced in 2022; filming took place from August to December 2022. The feature was originally set for a March 29, 2024 release before being pushed to January 31, 2025.
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“With ‘Okja’ and now ‘Mickey 17,’ I was given the final cut as part of my deal,” Bong said. “The studio respected my final cut rights.”
He continued, “Of course, during the editing process there are many opinions and many discussions that happen. But this film is my cut, and I’m very happy about it. It was a long process, but it was always smooth and respectful.”
“Mickey 17” lead star Robert Pattinson added that Bong’s final cut made for an “incredibly unusual” film.
“It’s really cool that a studio has done this film, and that Bong pushed to have the final cut on it — to make something that does feel incredibly unusual,” Pattinson said.
The feature centers on Pattinson’s titular Expendable Mickey, who is replicated over and over again to take on fatal missions instead of humans.
“In most sci-fi films and fantasy stories, eternal life is treated as something sublime, spiritual, profound,” Bong told Empire. “I was really captivated by the idea that human printing is not respectful at all. You’re literally reproducing humans like an inkjet printer.”
“Ultimately, the story is about how pathetic humans can be,” he continued. “It’s almost like you can smell every human character in the film — their piss stains and their smelly socks.”
“Mickey 17” is Bong’s first film since his history-making Best Picture winner “Parasite,” which was released in 2019.
Rumors flew that “Mickey 17” was delayed due to Warner Bros. taking issue with Bong’s early director’s cut, which the mill claimed was not “accessible” to audiences. While at Cinematheque’s Friends Film Festival in June 2024, Bong addressed the elephant, saying that he’s always had full control over editing in his contract, and that Warner Bros. was reviewing his completed edit from November 2023.
IndieWire has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment on the cut.
Bong’s post-“Mickey 17” plan originally included a “Parasite” TV adaptation, also at Warner Bros. But in fall 2022, Bong’s frequent collaborator Tilda Swinton (“Okja,” “Snowpiercer”), who was set in star in the planned HBO program, confirmed that she was no longer attached to lead. “Mickey 17” actor Mark Ruffalo was also set to star in the “Parasite” series, which was announced as a limited series akin to a six-hour movie.
We reached out to a rep at HBO asking for an up-to-date status on the “Parasite” limited series, but we did not immediately hear back.
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