Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ moves to April launch

Warner Bros Pictures has pushed the release of Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 from January 31 next year to April 18, when the Robert Pattinson sci-fi comedy will get a global IMAX launch. 

The move follows Lionsgate’s decision to push Michael Jackson biopic Michael from April 18 to October 3. 

A Warner Bros Pictures spokesperson said: “When the April 18 date became available, we quickly moved to secure it for Mickey 17. We’re thrilled with the new date, and very happy the film will be available to audiences in IMAX.” 

The film, Bong’s first since the breakout success of Parasite, had originally been set to open on March 29 this year, but in February was pushed to January, 2025. 

Adapted from Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel and produced by Plan B, Mickey 17 centres on an ‘expendable’ employee on an expedition to colonise an ice world who tries to stop his clone from replacing him. Besides Pattinson, the cast includes Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo. As well as writing and directing, Bong produces with Dooho Choi, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.

• Lionsgate’s ‘Michael’ moonwalks to October release