What could be better than one Robert Pattinson? Two Robert Pattinsons? Three? How about, say, 17? Because that's exactly what we're set to get in the aptly titled Mickey 17, the long-awaited latest film from Parasite Oscar winner Bong Joon Ho. Based on Edward Ashton's novel Mickey7, the Snowpiercer filmmaker's newest provocation — a self-written sci-fi comedy whose starry cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, and Toni Collette among its ranks — sees R-Pattz star as eponymous Expendable (not that kind) Mickey Barnes, an unlikely hero on a dangerous mission to help colonise the icy world of Niflheim. The kicker? Whenever Mickey dies — and die he most assuredly does — his body is reprinted and brought back, memories intact. Sound crazy? Well, check out the first trailer below, because it's a whole lot crazier:
Now that's a trailer, folks! 'Ain't That A Kick In The Head' in the background, Robert Pattinson debuting another wild voice in the foreground (The Boy & The Heron, you will always be famous), and a whole lotta Mickeys dying, coming back, and — eventually — discovering one another's existence to potentially catastrophic effect... what more could you want? Beyond revealing the basic premise of the movie, this first proper look at Mickey 17 is blessedly light on plot specifics, instead focusing on setting the tone and timbre of director Bong's newest cinematic curio. There's recognisable shades of Parasite and Okja's satirical incisiveness, flavours of Snowpiercer's viscerally visual, sci-fi infused class commentary, and even a little of the creature feature flair demonstrated in The Host all present and correct here, but make no mistake: this looks like something wholly new and wholly fresh from the South Korean auteur. Not least because we don't recall any other Bong joint wherein Robert Pattinson tries to kill Robert Pattinson whilst other Robert Pattinsons find themselves in a cycle of killing or being killed.
How exactly Mark Ruffalo's Trumpian big bad and his Toni Collette shaped advisor factor into the equation remains a mystery. As do the roles of Naomi Ackie — seen here fizzing with excitement at the prospect of getting her hands on two Mickeys — and Steven Yeun. But suffice it to say, we've already seen enough to set our hype level to "through the roof". And we can look forward to seeing Mickey 17 again and again and again when the latest Bong hits our screens (finally!) on 28 January 2025. Just enough time then to catch up on Mickey 1 through 16 — phew!