Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 has been delayed yet again, but you’ll at least be able to watch several Robert Pattinsons on an even bigger screen
Bong Joon-ho’s (of Parasite> fame) next movie, an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s sci-fi novel Mickey 7 (yes, not Mickey 17), was shot in 2022, yet we’re still waiting to see it. Now, it’s been hit with yet another delay and has been moved to spring 2025.
After the first-ever trailer arrived in September, online buzz surrounding the movie surged, prompting Warner Bros. to rethink once again its approach to the long-awaited project’s theatrical release. Now, it’ll open on April 18, 2025, roughly three months after its previous January 31 slot.
At some point, the idea was to highlight it as a big contender for the late 2024 awards season with a March 29, 2024, release in hopes of securing Oscar noms (and maybe even wins) in early 2025. Of course, Warner Bros. is now looking at next year’s race instead, prioritising an ‘early summer’ (in Hollywood terms) theatrical run that plays to the movie’s potential blockbuster strengths. As character-driven as it seems to be, it also looks like a blast of a sci-fi adventure with a healthy dose of comedy and Robert Pattinson doing a funky voice again.
“The new date allows the film to screen in IMAX and hopefully capture audiences over the Easter holiday,” explains Variety in its report. While Mickey 17 hasn’t secured the same slot as Godzilla x Kong earlier this year, Warner Bros. has been performing well during that spring period in recent times, so it might be trying to replicate that sort of success next year, before more heavy hitters arrive during the extremely packed mid-summer 2025 season.
It’s also worth pointing out the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic Michael from director Antoine Fuqua “was originally set for the April 18 slot, tying up IMAX and premium large format screens.” After a push to October 3 by Lionsgate, which seems bullish on its awards chances, earlier this week, Warner Bros. quickly pounced on the slot. As always (if you’ve been paying attention), Hollywood studios’ release schedules are often defined by what the competition does or doesn’t do.
Mickey 17 is a sci-fi thriller that stars Pattinson an expendable employee named Mickey Barnes sent on a dangerous missions to colonize the ice planet of Niflheim. When one Mickey dies, a duplicate that retains most of his memories is created to replace him. Fucked up, right? The cast also includes Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo, among others.