Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 has created huge expectations, particularly after the success of the director with Parasite, which became the Best Picture Oscar winner. In Mickey 17, Robert Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, a space colonist whose employment is deemed extremely expendable. These “expendables” are sent on the most perilous missions and, more than often, die—only to be revived with the help of human printing technology. The idea comes from Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey 7, and the film’s narrative broadens to incorporate the character’s 17th iteration, as opposed to the book’s 7.
Developing Human Themes in a Science Fiction Environment
During CinemaCon, Bong Joon Ho explained that the figure 17 is used to describe how many times Mickey dies in the narrative, humorously claiming he “killed him 10 times more” than he initially intended. Whereas Mickey 17 exists in a world of science fiction, Bong is insistent that it is fundamentally a human narrative. Pattinson appears both as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18, and both versions have their own set of characteristics. Mickey 17 is tired but satisfied with life, whereas Mickey 18 is depicted as a more anarchic, “evil brother.”
Delayed Release and Star-Studded Cast
The trailer of the movie has been eagerly anticipated, although the release of the film was postponed from March 2024 to January 31, 2025 because of post-production issues. This took the movie out of competition for awards, particularly after Parasite’s win. The movie has a good supporting cast, in addition to Pattinson, featuring Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Naomie Ackie, and Toni Collette.
Ackie, specifically, said that her character is emotionally elevated and tonally distinct from her past work, and she is excited but apprehensive to see the end product. Mickey 17 will be an interesting mix of sci-fi action and profound human discovery.
We have dialogues from the trailer of Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson. Check out Mickey 17 dialogues below:
