Robert Pattinson hates dying, especially after kicking the bucket 17-plus times for Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi-novel adaptation “Mickey 17.”
The feature, which marks writer/director Bong’s long-awaited follow-up to his Best Picture-winning “Parasite,” centers on Pattinson’s title character Mickey, who is a disposable employee called an Expendable. Mickey is sent on a human expedition sent to colonize ice world Niflheim; any mission that is considered too dangerous for humans is a task for Mickey. And of course, there are more than a few Mickey-related fatalities.
Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, and “Blink Twice” breakout Naomi Ackie also star.
Bong adapted Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey 7” but added more deaths for the lead character. The film project was first announced in January 2022, which came before the novel’s release in February via Macmillan imprint St. Martin. The film was originally set for a March 29, 2024 release before being pushed into 2025.
“Mickey 17” is produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Dooho Choi of Kate Street Picture Company, and Bong under his Offscreen, Inc. banner. The behind-the-camera creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Darius Khondji (“Okja”), Oscar-nominated production designer Fiona Crombie (“The Favourite”), Oscar-nominated editor Jin-mo Yang (“Parasite”), costume designer Catherine George (“Okja,” “Snowpiercer”), and visual effects supervisor Dan Glass (“The Matrix” franchise). The music is by composer Jae-il Jung (“Parasite,” “Squid Game”).
Bong said during 2024 CinemaCon that he cast Pattinson in part due to the actor’s “crazy thing in his eyes.”
As for Bong’s other projects at Warner Bros. Discovery, his slated “Parasite” TV series has since been shelved. Tilda Swinton confirmed she was no longer attached to lead the HBO series adaptation in 2022. Swinton had previously collaborated with director Bong on “Okja” and “Snowpiercer.” “Mickey 17” actor Ruffalo was also set to star in the “Parasite” series, which was announced as a limited series akin to a six-hour movie.
“Succession” and “Winning Time” director Adam McKay was also behind the show, saying during MTV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in April 2021 that the series was “chugging full-speed ahead” with an “incredible writers’ room” after outlining the arc of the series with Bong during the COVID-19 quarantine lockdown.
“It’s an original series,” McKay said at the time. “It’s in the same universe as the feature, but it’s an original story that lives in that same world.”
“Mickey 17” premieres January 31 in theaters. Check out the teaser below.