Film Twitter went into meltdown mode when Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and Twilight-slash-arthouse king Robert Pattinson announced they would collaborate on their first movie together: Mickey 17, an English language sci-fi with source material you can start digging into immediately. And although we have a teaser trailer, new cast members and a release date on the horizon — 29 March 2024 — it’s likely that it might get pushed back.
As Above the Line’s Jeff Sneider pointed out, the new release for Dune: Part Two — Warner Bros’ other major sci-fi- project — lands two weeks before Mickey 17’s current release date. With their sights set on that project dominating the box office, it would be silly for them to follow it up with direct competition a fortnight later. So where will Mickey 17 land on the calendar? Jeff thinks it might become an Oscar film in late 2024.
While that’s all speculation, here’s what we do know about Bong Joon-ho’s next movie, Mickey 17.
What is the plot of Mickey 17?
The film is based on Mickey7, a book by Edward Ashton that sets the stage for a dystopian sci-fi thriller in space. The titular character (we’re assuming played by R-Patz), is known as an ‘expendable’: a disposable employee who is enlisted to partake in an exhibition to colonise an ice world known as Niflheim. He is known as Mickey7 because his six previous iterations have died on so-called suicide missions; each time, a new version of Mickey is manufactured with the original Mickey’s memories intact. But upon this mission to Niflheim, Mickey starts to reckon with why he’s the one chosen to partake in these voyages. When he goes missing, and Mickey8 reports for duty, a whole new host of problems for him come to the fore.
The book the movie is based on is fairly new — it was only released in February 2022. But it’s common for books, once picked up by publishers, to be shopped for screen deals too. If you’re interested in reading it, and seeing what the differences will be between the book and the movie, you can buy it here.
The title change – from Mickey7 to Mickey 17 – suggests there will be a longer, potentially more complicated history of previous ‘suicide missions’ that came before Rob’s character’s. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Is there a trailer?
A little one! Warner Bros. Pictures dropped a teaser for the upcoming film: the half-minute clip features a shirtless R-Patz bathed in blue light as he lies on the bed inside a big, futuristic machine.
Who is in the cast?
The first rumoured cast member to be attached to the film was Tilda Swinton — no surprise, considering director Bong and Tilda have collaborated on projects in the past like Snowpiercer and Okja. Last year, she announced in a Spanish interview that she was working with him on his new movie, but no official news confirms it. Robert Pattinson’s presence was officially confirmed by Variety.
South Korean king Steven Yeun is expected to appear in the project too. Like Tilda, Steven last worked with director Bong on his last English language film Okja, and will be reuniting with him on Mickey 17 after a string of hits: The Walking Dead made him a star; Burning was a masterwork in the eyes of critics, and of course there was Nope, the latest Jordan Peele tour de force. There’s no word yet on who he’ll play in the new film, but there’s room in every story for a sweet-seeming guy with ulterior motives.
The star power for the movie is growing further too: Oscar-nominee Mark Ruffalo has also joined the cast, alongside Hereditary’s Toni Collette and British-born Star Wars actor Naomi Ackie.
What is Mickey 17’s release date?
The movie – for now – is officially slated for release on 29 March 2024.
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