Robert Pattinson Australia: MICKEY17

...every A-lister in their 30s was chasing the role. It wasn't long before Bong and execs were impressed with Pattinson following his meeting and felt he was perfect for the role, with an offer going out right before the new year.
Deadline, 20 January 2022

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Writer: Edward Ashton (Novel), Bong Joon Ho

Producer: Bong Joon-Ho, Dooho Choi, Dede Gardiner (Plan B), Jeremy Kleiner (Plan B)

Cinematographer: Darius Khondji

Role: Mickey17

Costars: Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun

Production Co: Warner Bros, Plan B, Kate Street Picture Company (Dooho Choi),

Sales Rep: Warner Bros

World Premiere: TBA

Synopsis Goodreads:

“Mickey7, an “expendable,” refuses to let his replacement clone Mickey8 take his place.

Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living.

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal—the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

On a fairly routine scouting mission, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. By the time he returns to the colony base, surprisingly helped back by native life, Mickey7’s fate has been sealed. There’s a new clone, Mickey8, reporting for Expendable duties. The idea of duplicate Expendables is universally loathed, and if caught, they will likely be thrown into the recycler for protein.

Mickey7 must keep his double a secret from the rest of the colony. Meanwhile, life on Niflheim is getting worse. The atmosphere is unsuitable for humans, food is in short supply, and terraforming is going poorly. The native species are growing curious about their new neighbors, and that curiosity has Commander Marshall very afraid. Ultimately, the survival of both lifeforms will come down to Mickey7.

That is, if he can just keep from dying for good.”

Current Status

OPTIONED: 19 January 2022
ANNOUCEMENT: 18 February 2022 Robert Pattinson confirms involvement
PRE_PRODUCTION as at 21 May 2022
CURRENTLY FILMING: 1 August 2022
FIRST LOOK: Robert Pattinson in Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17” | Releasing 29 March 2024 *Updated 21 December 2022 with “wrap party” photo’
POST PRODUCTION: 22 December 2022

USA – 29 March 2024

World of Reel shared this reaction from a test screening of Mickey17 on 8 June 2023:

Hey, I attended the Mickey 17 screening last night and I thought it was fantastic. Perfectly conveys the mood and directorial ticks of all his previous films; it’s funny but also cleverly political and though action and adventure take a back seat it’s always doing something sharp and thrilling. Robert Pattinson is wonderfully unhinged in twin roles, very reminiscent of the performances in Fight Club, Mark Ruffalo is delivering a very Trump-ian performance that akin to Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer and if that’s not enough Toni Colette is just as evil and always in his ear. The production is stunning, big sets and practical effects with very minimal CGI work and the cinematography here is like super close to so much of David Finchers work, so stunning and very much a likely contender for a nomination. It was quite an experience. The introducer emphasized how early it was in the process with very minimally done but 75% was pretty much polished and ready to go with just a score and sound design missing. So much of it was clearly practical.