Mickey 17 is a 2025 science-fiction comedy film produced, written, and directed by Bong Joon-ho, based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. The film stars Robert Pattinson in the title role, alongside Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo.
| Mickey 17 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bong Joon-ho |
| Screenplay by | Bong Joon-ho |
| Based on | Mickey7 by Edward Ashton |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Darius Khondji |
| Edited by | Yang Jin-mo |
| Music by | Jung Jae-il |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 137 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $80–118 million[3][4] |
Mickey 17 premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2025,[3] before being theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in South Korea on February 28, 2025, and later in the United States on March 7.
Premise
editWanting to get off of Earth, the financially destitute Mickey Barnes signs up to be an "expendable", a disposable clone worker, on the human colony Niflheim. As an expendable, Mickey undertakes several dangerous assignments he is not expected to survive, with a new body being regenerated each time he dies. After one of his clones, "Mickey 17", is incorrectly assumed dead, both the previous and current version, known as Mickey 18, have to grapple with the nature of being expendables and the brutal government of the colony.
Cast
edit- Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, an expendable employee on Nilfheim on his seventeenth (later eighteenth) iteration
- Naomi Ackie as Nasha Adjaya, Mickey's love interest and the girlfriend of one of his previous clones
- Steven Yeun as Timo, a pilot and Mickey's friend
- Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall, a egomaniacal fascist politician with sinister designs for Nilfheim
- Toni Collette as Ylfa, Marshall's devious and controlling wife
- Holliday Grainger as Gemma
- Anamaria Vartolomei as Kai Katz
- Thomas Turgoose
- Angus Imrie as Shrimp Eyes
- Cameron Britton as Arkady
- Patsy Ferran
- Daniel Henshall
- Steve Park as Agent Zeke
- Tim Key
Production
editA film adaptation of Edward Ashton's novel Mickey7 was announced to be in development prior to its publication in January 2022, with Bong Joon-ho writing, directing, and producing for Warner Bros. Pictures and Robert Pattinson in talks to star.[5] Charles Yu wrote additional literary material for the film.[6]
Bong storyboarded each sequence before filming.[7] Pattinson helped to revise part of the script to give it "humor and knowledge of slang that I would have never come across otherwise." Pattinson also partially based his performance on Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber, citing similar comedic injuries. Bong maintained that he had final cut privilege, even though there was a delay in the editing.[8] To differentiate the two main Mickeys, Pattinson changed his accent for each character, comparing them to Ren and Stimpy from the show of the same name. In the initial script reading, he imitated the voices of Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O from Jackass. Bong told him not to do the Steve-O impression.[9]
Pattinson was confirmed to star in May 2022, with Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo joining the cast.[10] In July, Steven Yeun was added to the cast.[11] Tim Key was cast after a phone call, as Bong wanted him specifically for a role.[7] Production began at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden on August 2, 2022,[12] and concluded in December 2022.[13] The film was finished in January 2023.[4]
Release
editMickey 17 is set to be theatrically released in the United States on March 7, 2025, by Warner Bros. Pictures.[14] It was originally scheduled to be released on March 29, 2024, but was delayed because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and post-production delays, after a period of being off the release schedule, to January 31, 2025 (where it would have opened three days earlier in South Korea); April 18, 2025; and finally March 7, 2025.[15][16][17][18][19][14] The film premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, 2025, before opening in South Korea on February 28, 2025, a week before its global rollout.[3][20]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 28 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10.[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[22]
References
edit- ^ "Mickey 17 (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 20, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (February 15, 2025). "Mickey 17 Review: A Dopey Robert Pattinson Is Dying to Make You Laugh in Parasite Director's Disappointing Follow-up". Variety. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ a b c Keslassy, Elsa (January 10, 2025). "Bong Joon Ho's 'Mickey 17,' Starring Robert Pattinson, to Premiere at Berlin Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 15, 2025). "Why Warner Bros Shook Up Its Feature Exec Ranks As It Braces For An Auteur-Driven 2025 Slate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (January 19, 2022). "Bong Joon Ho Sets Next Movie at Warner Bros. With Robert Pattinson in Talks to Star". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ "Mickey 17". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ a b Garcia, Bella (January 26, 2025). "Mickey 17 Actor Recalls Bong Joon-Ho's Unique Filming Process During Robert Pattinson's Long-Awaited Sci-Fi Movie". ScreenRant. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ Bergeson, Samantha (December 4, 2024). "Robert Pattinson Says Bong Joon Ho Is an 'Unusual' Director: 'Mickey 17' Felt 'So Impossible' to Make at the Start". IndieWire. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ "Robert Pattinson Based His Mickey 17 And 18 Voices On Ren & Stimpy". Empire. October 17, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (May 20, 2022). "Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette And Mark Ruffalo Join Robert Pattinson In Bong Joon Ho's Next Film At Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (July 7, 2022). "Steven Yeun Latest To Join Robert Pattinson In Bong Joon Ho's Next Film At Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ Daniels, Nia (August 2, 2022). "UK shoot gets underway on Bong Joon Ho's Mickey7 starring Robert Pattinson". Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ Staff, Screen (November 2, 2022). "2022 film and high-end TV productions shooting in the UK: latest updates". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 27, 2024). "'The Batman' Sequel Heads To 2027, Tom Cruise & Alejandro G. Iñárritu Pic Sets 2026 Release, 'Sinners' & 'Mickey 17' Switch Places". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 5, 2022). "Robert Pattinson and Bong Joon Ho's 'Mickey 17' Gets First Look, 2024 Release Date". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (January 9, 2024). "'Godzilla x Kong' Moves Up Release in Theaters to Late March, 'Mickey 17' Delayed". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ Jackson, Angelique (February 20, 2024). "Bong Joon Ho's 'Mickey 17,' Starring Robert Pattinson, Moved to 2025". Variety. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 13, 2024). "Bong Joon-Ho's 'Mickey 17' Going Earlier In Helmer's South Korea Homeland". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 5, 2024). "Bong Joon Ho's Robert Pattinson Sci-Fi Movie 'Mickey 17' Now Blasting Off Easter Weekend 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (January 10, 2025). "Robert Pattinson and Bong Joon-ho's 'Mickey 17' to Premiere in South Korea Ahead of Worldwide Release – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "Mickey 17". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
- ^ "Mickey 17". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
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