SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has started filming his new science-fiction film with the working title of Mickey7 at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden in Britain.

Many popular movies, including the Harry Potter (2001 to 2011), Kingsman (2014 to present) and Mission: Impossible (1996 to present) franchises, were filmed at the studio..

Bong, 52, is scheduled to finish shooting by the end of this year, with the film's release expected in late 2023 or early 2024.

The English-language movie is based on Mickey7, a sci-fi novel by American author Edward Ashton.

It tells the story of Mickey7, a disposable clone who is sent to colonise the ice world Niflheim.

Hollywood actor Robert Pattinson, best known for the Twilight Saga film series (2008 to 2012) and The Batman (2022), will star as the protagonist.

Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, who previously worked with Bong on Okja (2017), will also appear in the new movie.

Yeun, 38, previously starred in the Korean-American immigration film Minari (2020), in which he was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.

Other cast members of the new project include English actress Naomi Ackie, Australian actress Toni Collette and American actor Mark Ruffalo.

The film is Bong's first since winning four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, in 2020 for Parasite (2019).

It is also the renowned director's third English-language film, following Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja.