Bong Joon-ho’s Animated Feature Releasing This Year?

New details have emerged on Palme d’Or winner South Korean writer-director Bong Joon-ho’s animated feature about deep sea creatures, inspired by Claire Nouvian’s novel The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss, which is being described as the most expensive Korean film ever made.

Parasite writer-director Bong Joon-ho already has his next film slated to release on March 7th. Mickey 17, starring Robert Pattinson, is an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s sci-fi novel Mickey7 which follows Mickey Barnes, who finds himself sent on a human expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job which is to literally die, for a living, furthermore, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. This is Joon-ho’s next film after his Palme d’Or and Best Picture Academy Award-winner Parasite, which is also often cited as one of the best films of the 21st century.

New Details Regarding Bong Joon-ho’s Animated Film

We’ve heard here at Feature First and are first to report that Bong Joon-ho’s fully CG-animated film is eyeing a 2025 release, which would make it that there are two films releasing this year directed by Bong Joon-ho.

Previously, Seo Woo-sik, CEO of Barunson C&C and producer of Bong Joon-ho’s previous films such as Okja and Mother, shared at the Red Sea International Film Festival that Joon-ho’s animated film is “halfway done.” The film is expected to have a budget of $50M, making it the most expensive Korean film ever made.

Regarding plot details and the synopsis, we’ve heard that the film will be set in Hawaii, and the ocean depths beneath it are where a group of exotic deep-sea creatures are set out on an adventure when their underwater oasis and the people above are threatened. Even though this doesn’t say too much about the plot. The filmmaker had originally shared that he intends to keep the plot of the film he had been working on the screenplay of from 2018 to 2021 a secret. Something else to take into consideration is that the film was halfway finished by December 2024. It’s possible that it could be finished sometime soon this year, and aiming for a late 2025 release, especially for awards season.

Bong Joon-ho’s next film, Mickey 17, starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Collette, will hit theaters on March 7th this year.

If you’re interested in more news regarding Bong Joon-ho’s animated feature, make sure to stay tuned here at Feature First and possibly check out some of our other exclusives.