The much-anticipated launch of Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi film Mickey 17 officially began with a press event in Seoul on Monday. This marks Bong’s first feature since his groundbreaking success with Parasite, which took home the Cannes Palme d’Or and four Oscars in 2019.
The journey to Mickey 17 has been a long one, with filming wrapping up in December 2022. Originally slated for a March 29, 2024 release, the movie will now make its global debut at the Berlinale in February before premiering theatrically in Korea on February 28. U.S. audiences can catch it in cinemas starting March 7, courtesy of Warner Bros.
Speaking at Seoul’s Yongsan CGV cinema, Bong expressed his excitement about unveiling the film in his home country first. “It’s an honor to premiere Mickey 17 in Korea before it reaches audiences worldwide in March,” he said.
For Robert Pattinson, the event was also momentous—it marked his first-ever visit to Korea. The actor received a warm welcome from hundreds of fans upon his arrival at Incheon Airport. “It’s amazing to see how excited people are about the movie,” he said. “It’s been a long road to get here, and seeing fans with the posters already is just so exciting.”
The film is an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s 2022 sci-fi novel Mickey 7, which follows a man in the near future who becomes an “expendable” worker—someone assigned perilous tasks knowing he’ll be regenerated if he dies.
“The script felt deceptively simple at first,” said Pattinson. “But when you dig into Mickey’s psyche—a guy with no self-confidence but also no self-pity—it becomes really complex. I started thinking of him as this untrained dog who has to die 17 times to finally learn something.”
Bong described the movie as more than just a sci-fi adventure. “This is a story about humanity,” he explained. “Unlike the novel, which delves into technical scientific details, I stripped those elements away to focus on Mickey’s vulnerability and isolation. He’s an ordinary, working-class man with an extraordinary job.”
Recalling the unique filming experience, Pattinson compared the production to a “giant Star Wars set” and marveled at Bong’s directing style. “We’d shoot one or two lines at a time, which felt strange at first. But after a week, we were all saying, ‘This is incredible. Let’s film every movie like this!’” he said.
Bong shed light on his approach, noting the difference between Korean and Hollywood filmmaking. “In Korea, we often edit directly on set, which surprises many foreign actors. They find it fascinating to see the film coming together in real-time,” he said.
With its intriguing concept, star-studded cast—including Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo—and Bong’s signature touch, Mickey 17 is set to be one of 2024’s most talked-about films.
