On Monday, the official X/Twitter account for filmmaker Bong Joon Ho’s next sci-fi picture, Mickey 17, posted a brief clip showing a frigid Robert Pattinson, hinting at the much-anticipated release of the first trailer. Pattinson’s character is questioned as he constantly dies: “What’s it like to die?” We are pretty excited about this one after seeing the trailer.
What is Mickey 17 Going to Be About?
Here’s the official synopsis, “From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of ‘Parasite,’ Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, ‘Mickey 17.’ The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), 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.”
Mickey Barnes is an “Expendable”: a member of a human expedition assigned to Niflheim’s ice planet. Mickey’s job is to go on the suicide missions that the other members of the team try to avoid, even though doing so always ends in his demise. Mickey dies in one iteration, but most of his memories are preserved in the new body that grows out of it. Mickey knows what he signed into after six deaths, which is why, at the time he took it, it was the only vacant colonial job.
The enigmatic machine will repeatedly print his body until the job is finished. It doesn’t matter whether Mickey drowned, frozen to death, or turned into a zombie buffalo. There will be more of him if there is only one Mickey at a time. This contradiction becomes problematic when a clone lives past its planned expiration date.
What Book is Mickey 17 based on?
Mickey 17 is based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey 7. Mickey 7 tells the story of a colonist named Mickey Barnes, who is sent to help colonize an ice planet after being scanned by a machine. NPR included it among its list of the Best Sci-Fi Books of 2022.
“I’ve had people ask me, ‘Are you nervous?'” Ashton told Nerdist. “So my answer is no, I’m not concerned about that at all. In my view, the man’s a genius. I don’t believe he’s ever made a bad film. And I sincerely hope that this isn’t going to be his first.”
Is Mickey 17 a Sequel?
Mickey 17 is not a sequel. The name comes from the clone’s identifying number. Mickey 17 is the seventeenth clone of Mickey Barnes.
Who Stars in Mickey 17?
In addition to Pattinson(s), Naomi Ackie plays Mickey’s girlfriend Nasha Adjaya; Steven Yeun plays an old friend named Berto; Toni Collette is the Expendables recruiter Gwen Johansen; and Mark Ruffalo plays Commander Hieronymous Marshall. Holliday Grainger, Anamaria Vartolomei, Thomas Turgoose, Angus Imrie, Patsy Ferran, Daniel Henshall, and Steve Park also star in the movie. Oscar-nominated editor Jinmo Yang (Parasite), Oscar-nominated costume designer Catherine George (Snowpiercer), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Dan Glass (The Matrix), Oscar-nominated director of photography Darius Khondji (Okja), and Oscar-nominated production designer Fiona Crombie (Cruella) will all be working on Mickey 17.
When Does Mickey 17 Come Out?
This film has been in the works for a long time; the first official still from the movie was released in December 2022. Additionally, Bong’s Parasite took home the Best Picture Oscar early in 2020, just in time to see the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic. Thus, we have been waiting long to see how he will attempt to surpass it.
Mickey 17’s original release date on March 29, 2024 was rescheduled. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. postponed it because of production shifts during the SAG-AFTRA strike. Given that it would have faced competition from Godzilla and Kong, Elio, Kung Fu Panda 4, A Quiet Place: Day One, and others, its new release schedule was probably for the best.
January 31, 2025, sees the theatrical premiere of Mickey 17 in the US.
Are you excited about Mickey 17? Let us know in the comments below!