Video: Director Bong Joon Ho Explains Why He Could Never Make a Musical

Though Bong Joon Ho's films have been successful in South Korea for years, he entered the wider American zeitgeist in a huge way with 2019's Parasite, his thriller film that took home several Oscars, including Best Picture. Next week, he is releasing Mickey 17, his new science fiction comedy starring Robert Pattinson. However, despite his unique and wide-ranging films, audiences shouldn't expect a musical from the Oscar-winner anytime soon.

"I have a lot of respect for musicals," the filmmaker told Stephen Colbert on a recent visit to The Late Show. "I particularly like Jesus Christ Superstar. I love ALL THAT Jazz. But I could never make a musical. I can't stand the minute they start to sing," he admitted, resulting in laughter from the audience. 

"You see the characters just talking like normal conversations and then suddenly, 'Tonight!...'" he explained, breaking out in an impromptu rendition of the famous West Side Story number." Watch the conversation with the director, who also shares how he storyboards his films and encourages his actors to improvise.

Bong Joon Ho's new film Mickey 17 follows the unlucky Mickey Barnes, who has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living. Written and directed by Bong Joon Ho, the movie stars Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun, with Academy Award nominee Toni Collette, and Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, in theaters only nationwide on March 7, 2025.