Bong Joon-Ho’s film Mickey-17 has been reportedly delayed a second time. The film was originally slated to release in March of 2024 but due to the writer’s strike, was pushed back to January of 2025. However, as of recently, the film’s release date was suddenly moved to April of 2025. While it may be easy to speculate that the delays are due to a series of production issues, reports have stated the opposite, claiming the delays are a good thing for the film.
Mickey-17 is an upcoming sci-fi dark comedy about a series of clones named Mickey, all tasked with exploring a mysterious ice planet. The film, which is an adaptation of the novel Mickey-7 written by Edward Ashton, is directed by legendary South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho. Joon-Ho’s last film Parasite was the first foreign language movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars in 2019. Parasite has given Joon-Ho more notoriety in the west, allowing him to make more films in the English language for American audiences. With high profile actors like Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, and Steven Yeun along with such an acclaimed director, Mickey-17 has all the ingredients to be a hit.
That being said, the film’s previous release date of January was a possible determinant to the film. January is often considered to be a slow month in the film industry, especially in comparison to the busy holiday season. Movies which are released very early into the year are usually films which either lack mass appeal or studios have little confidence in. While Mickey-17’s off-kilter comedy, sci-fi setting, and R-rating could have possibly played a role in urging Warren Bros. to release the movie during January, a major factor in their decision had to do with the availability of IMAX screens.
With only a limited amount of IMAX screens in most modern cinemas, studios must plan around other movies which are releasing in the same format to determine whether or not there are enough IMAX screens to go around at a given time. IMAX screens have a unique aspect ratio of 1.90:1 and utilize 70mm film, allowing for both a wider and higher resolution picture. Movies shot in this specific ratio have the opportunity to be viewed as filmed by the director before being cropped and edited for home release.
Originally, a Michael Jackson biopic shot in IMAX titled Michael was slated to release in April of 2025, however was pushed back to October. With the month of April now available, Warren Bros. was quick to change the release date of Mickey-17 to fill this space. When asked, a Warren Bros. spokesperson stated: “We’re thrilled with the new date, and very happy the film will be available to audiences in IMAX.”
With the film now becoming available around the Easter holiday season, Mickey-17 has a greater chance of reaching more audience members opposed to its original release date.
