Director Bong Joon-ho has given an update on an animated film he’s working on, revealing when the film is currently planned to release, and just how hard it is trying to make a movie like this by himself.
When is Bong Joon-ho’s animated movie coming out?
In a recent interview with Korea’s JTBC News (via World of Reel), Bong said that his animated movie, which has been in the works for a few years, is now about “halfway done,” and that he anticipates it being ready for release sometime in the next year or two.
“Late 2026 or 2027,” said Bong of the film’s potential release date. “Recently there was some incorrect information that it was going to be released this year in 2025. There were a few articles that said that, but it’s not 2025 at all. I’m working really hard with a lot of staff right now. We are currently working on it with the goal of opening in ’27 and we have been preparing for a very long time. We have been preparing since 2019.”
Bong has been working on art for the movie himself, a process he says has been tough due to how much work goes into it.
“It is very difficult. So sometimes when I watch animated films, there are cases where two or three directors appear when the credits roll,” Bong said. “I understand why they do that, but I can’t do that because of my personality. I feel like I have to do everything myself, so I am trying to do it somehow right now.”
According to previous reports on the movie, the film is also loosely inspired by Claire Nouvian’s novel The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss. Little is known about the upcoming movie, but it’s been reported that the film is set in a place called Simahe, and features “cute but very lonely characters” living in the world, according to the filmmaker.
