Summary
-
Mickey 17
, based on the novel, follows an expendable worker on an icy planet who dies multiple times but regenerates. - Director Bong Joon-ho downplays sci-fi in favor of a human story with a cast including Robert Pattinson.
- Pattinson’s performance as multiple versions of the title character in
Mickey 17
adds depth to the character, releasing January 31, 2025.
Mickey 17 footage reveals more about Bong Joon-ho’s mysterious sci-fi film starring Robert Pattinson. The new film from the Parasite director is based on the book by Edward Ashton, Mickey7, which follows an expendable employee sent on an expedition to colonize the ice planet Niflheim, and after each iteration of Mickey dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. Other than Pattinson as the eponymous character, the cast also includes Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo.
Now, at CinemaCon 2024, where Screen Rant was in attendance, Warner Bros. debuted new footage from Mickey 17. The footage begins with a ship in space and a planet in the background. Mickey’s hand gets cut off while he’s outside on a spacewalk. He’s in an MRI-style tube and is told they’re doing readings of his memories and body to make him “expendable” to help recreate his body later on. He dies in a few different ways, including being killed by a bear. One time, Mickey wakes up and sees a duplicate of himself and screams, and one of them tries to kill the other.
Robert Pattinson’s Upcoming Movie Can Redeem His Most Underrated Sci-Fi Role
Robert Pattinson will star in Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming sci-fi movie Mickey 17 — and the role could redeem the actor’s most underrated sci-fi role.
Mickey 17 Is A Unique Venture For Bong Joon-Ho
Mickey 17 is highly anticipated as director Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to Parasite, which won Best Picture in 2020. Mickey 17, a sci-fi film, should be a drastic change of pace from Parasite, a dark comedy thriller. His previous movie was also an original story, while Mickey 17 is based on the book, Mickey7. Explaining the reason for the title change, Bong says, “I killed him 10 more times.” The director also downplayed its sci-fi elements, saying, “It’s a story of a simple man who ends up saving the world. It’s hard to say sci-fi, it’s a human story.”
The Mickey 17 footage presents a monotonous existence for the main character. He is sent on missions to an icy snowy planet that resembles Hoth, remarking, “Oh, this again?” and much of the footage is dedicated to displaying the different ways in which he dies. At one point, Mickey is in jail with Steven Yeun’s character, Berto, who says, “Let’s just do rock, paper, scissors and shoot the loser.” Mickey is regenerated in an MRI-style tube. and while CinemaCon footage isn’t released to the public, this device was revealed in a short Mickey 17 trailer released in December 2022.
|
Cast Member |
Character |
|---|---|
|
Robert Pattinson |
Mickey Barnes |
|
Steven Yeun |
Berto |
|
Naomi Ackie |
Nasha Adjaya |
|
Toni Collette |
Gwen Johansen |
|
Mark Ruffalo |
Hieronymous Marshall |
|
Thomas Turgoose |
– |
By playing multiple versions of one person, Mickey 17 is also positioning itself as a highly-anticipated performance from Robert Pattinson. The actor imbues each iteration with different characteristics, including one who is content with his purpose and another who is more of an evil twin. Pattinson says he signed on to the project because Bong’s script was “one of the funniest, bizarre sci-fi scripts [he’s] ever read in [his] life.” Though the footage reveals much about the sci-fi film, it seems to just be scratching the surface of what’s in store for Mickey 17.
Mickey 17
releases in theaters on January 31, 2025.