Why Has Bong Joon Ho And Robert Pattinson’s ‘Mickey 17’ Been Delayed?

After being announced in 2022, fans have been eagerly awaiting Mickey 17, the latest film from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho. Starring Robert Pattinson, the movie is based on the sci-fi novel Mickey 7 and has been shrouded in mystery ever since the one (and only) image of Rob has been released. You’ve probably seen it before.

Mickey 17 stars Pattinson as a disposable employee, sort of like a clone, on a space expedition who refuses to be taken over by his replacement clone. Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, and Toni Collette also star. So what in the world is taking so long?

The film was initially supposed to be released in March of this year. Filming took place from August to December 2022, and a brief teaser was posted shortly after that. And then…nothing.

Then, in January 2024, the movie was yanked from Warner Bros release schedule and replaced by those pesky guys, Godzilla X Kong. Finally, in March, Warner Bros. set the official release date to January 31st, 2025. Seems far off, right?

While the initial delays were in part due to the 2023 strikes, rumors are surfacing that Warner Bros. might not have been on board with Bong Joon-ho’s version. Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman (via JoBlo) claimed that “Mickey 17 is delayed because Warner Bros. won’t let Bong Joon-ho release his director’s cut. They want to release a more ‘accessible’ version.”

Shortly after that claim, the director denied the rumor, saying that he submitted the film back in November 2023.

Even though it seems far away, the movie is starting to gain some traction. At CineEurope this week, Pattinson and Bong Joon Ho virtually presented clips from the movie, so we know it does exist out there! We just have to wait a few more months to see it.