By After Parasite‘s historic Academy Awards victories and his further breaking through to international stardom, South Korean icon Bong Joon-ho will be turning his talents to animation for one of his next projects, announcing plans to direct a feature length animated film set amidst the deep sea.
Though Bong is already working on other projects (both a Korean and English-language film, projects said to be about the size of Parasite or his 2009 film Mother), the news of the animated film comes with minor details on the premise, setting things up for a nautical tale with a decidedly-intriguing bit of info. The film will apparently follow an “invertebrate deep-sea fish who believes he’s suffering from spinal disk herniation,” shedding light on the anxieties one might not consider a sea creature to be burdened with. What might sound silly comes with the knowledge that Bong’s idiosyncrasies often play out as genuinely warm, non-farcical quirks; evident in Parasite alone, he’s a writer and filmmaker interested in exploring all walks of life. In this case, that life is found in the dark of the sea.
The script has been in the works since 2018, with Bong already approaching actors for the cast. The film will be produced at 4th Creative Party, a production company with whom Bong collaborated on Snowpiercer and Okja for visual effects, and be “fully CGI animation.” With his two live-action productions further along, expect to wait awhile longer to catch a glimpse of the director’s animated vision. Though I imagine I’m not alone in being excited for more of his films for years to come.
Source: The Film Stage