2024-09-18 18:10:02
To those Mickeys about to die, we salute you. Robert Pattinson is killed over and over in the first trailer for Mickey 17, Bong Joon Ho‘s long awaited followup to best picture winner for Parasite.
In the film, Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, a space colonist known as an expendable. Expendables do the most dangerous jobs the colony has to offer, and often die in the process, only to be brought back to life via human printing technology.
Edward Ashton originated this world in his 2022 novel Mickey 7, which centers on the seventh iteration of Mickey Barnes. In the movie, that number has been increased to 17. “The number is the number of times he dies. I killed him 10 times more,” Bong said to laughs at CinemaCon in April, when he introduced the first footage. “It’s a sci-fi movie, but it’s a human story.”
Pattinson plays Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 in most of the story. At CinemaCon, Pattinson said he gave the men different characteristics. Mickey 17 is beaten down by life, but happy to be part of the time, while Mickey 18 is like “an evil brother” who “is out of control.”
The trailer has been long awaited, as the film was initially slated for March 2024, but it moved to Jan. 31, 2025 due to post-production delays. The release date surprised observers, given that it takes Mickey 17 out of awards season following Parasite‘s big wins.
Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Naomie Ackie and Toni Collette also star in the feature. Ackie recently told The Hollywood Reporter for a cover story of the project: “It’s heightened emotions and tonally different than what I’ve done before, so I’m quite scared to see it and hoping I balanced it right.”
