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 screenshot courtesy Warner Bros.

South Korean cinema-goers will get a three-day jump on the rest of the world when the Bong Joon-ho-directed “Mickey 17” releases in January 2025 in time for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Warner Bros. Pictures says that the Robert Pattinson-starring sci-fi film will open in Korea on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, ahead of its global outing on Jan. 31.

The film was originally announced as opening in cinemas in March 2024, but WBD recently pushed that back by nine months to allow the picture to be completed. Production had been affected by Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023.

“Mickey 17” is Bong’s first feature as director since “Parasite,” which became the first non-English language movie to win best picture at the Oscars. In addition to writing and directing, Bong also produces the upcoming film through his company Offscreen. Additional producers include Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B and Dooho Choi of Kate Street Pictures.

The film is adapted from Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel, described by publisher St. Martin Press as a high-concept cerebral thriller in the vein of “The Martian” and “Dark Matter.” Pattinson plays an “expendable” — a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize an ice planet — who refuses to let his replacement clone take his place. The cast also includes Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo.

“Director Bong’s creativity, vision and imagination always exceed expectations. ‘Mickey 17’ will surprise audiences with its original story and characters, unpredictable plot development and humor, as well as great production qualities. Korea, director Bong’s mother country, was our first choice in terms of where to debut the film. All of us here at Warner Bros. are very excited to share ‘Mickey 17’ with audiences in Korea and beyond,” said Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, president of international distribution Andrew Cripps.

Written by Patrick Frater

Link:https://variety.com/2024/film/asia/bong-joon-ho-robert-pattinson-mickey-17-korea-release-1235941493/