South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (The Host, Memories of Murder, Snowpiercer) was on the rise long before his Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for the fantastic thriller, Parasite. After the film’s release, he’s gathered quiet a large following in the west among mainstream audiences and we’re all excited to see what he gives us next.
Bong Joon Ho is currently at the Cannes Film Festival (Parasite won the Palme d’Or previously in 2019) this week and dished about a couple of upcoming projects he’s been working on via Indie Wire, including his untitled animated film. It was revealed back in May, that the director would be making an animated film inspired by the 2007 French scientific book The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of The Abyss from Claire Nouvian. However, it won’t be his next project as he’s now announced that it likely won’t be ready for a release until 2025 or 2026.
“…Inspired by a French scientific book that my wife bought and brought home. The pictures of the sea creatures were extraordinary. After that my imagination took over,” the director said of his untitled animated film. He continued to give a potential timeline for the release date, “The underwater colors are absolutely splendid. The starting point was the book. The story and animation flows from it. Animation is something I really wanted to try. I think the project will be done after my next film. I have the team for special effects. It may come out in 2025 or 2026.”
Check out a flip-through of the book below which is visually stunning.
Bong Joon Ho is also working alongside Adam McKay for a HBO series that takes place within the same world of Parasite, except will be set in the United States, the filmmaker reiterating earlier in the year that the project isn’t a remake but an original story.
PARASITE – Ki-taek’s family of four is close, but fully unemployed, with a bleak future ahead of them. The son Ki-woo is recommended by his friend, a student at a prestigious university, for a well-paid tutoring job, spawning hopes of a regular income. Carrying the expectations of all his family, Ki-woo heads to the Park family home for an interview. Arriving at the house of Mr. Park, the owner of a global IT firm, Ki-woo meets Yeon-kyo, the beautiful young lady of the house. But following this first meeting between the two families, an unstoppable string of mishaps lies in wait.
SOURCE: INDIE WIRE