The many facets of Robert Pattinson were on display in the first trailer for Mickey 17, the upcoming film from Bong Joon Ho that delves into human printing, identity and space colonization.
Bong made his first trip to CinemaCon to show off the trailer, with Bong saying it’s the story of “a simple man who ultimately ends up saving the world.”
Mickey 17 is based on the novel Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton and follows Mickey 7, a space colonist known as an expendable — those who do the colony’s most dangerous work and often die in the process, only to be brought back to life through human printing technology. The protagonist in the novel is the seventh version of a man named Mickey Barnes, but in the movie, that’s been upped.
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“The number is the number of times he dies. I killed him ten times more,” Bong said to laughs from the crowd. “It’s a sci-fi movie, but it’s a human story.”
The trailer, which was not released outside the room, was set to Frank Sinatra, which added levity to some rather violent scenes, such as Mickey losing a hand and being dumped alive into liquid metal (with his consent).
Mickey 17 has been the subject of much curiosity, given that it is Bong’s followup to the best picture-winning Parasite, yet has taken quite awhile for a first look to emerge. Post-production delays pushed the film off a March 2024 release date to Jan. 31, 2025, a date that turned heads given that this does not position Oscar-winner Bong’s latest as an awards contender. The film also stars Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Naomie Ackie and Toni Collette.
Pattinson, who is a Warners partner as the star of The Batman and its upcoming sequel, called Bong’s script “one of the funniest, bizarre sci-fi scripts I’ve ever read in my life.”
Pattinson essentially plays two characters — Mickey 17 and Mickey 18, and while they are genetically identical, Pattinson gave them different characteristics. Mickey 17, he says, is beaten down by life but is happy to be part of a team, while 18 is more like “playing an evil brother” who is “out of control.”
