To stop his substitute clone Mickey8 from supplanting him, Mickey7, an expendable robot, is dispatched to an icy planet to settle it.

Storyline

EditA return to speculative sci-fi fantasy for Bong Joon-ho, who went stratospheric with his Oscar-winning psychological satire Parasite. Adapted from the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, this stars Robert Pattinson as an “expendable” – a disposable crew member on a space mission, selected for dangerous tasks because he can be renewed if his body dies, with his memories largely intact. With one regeneration, though, things go very wrong.

Robert Pattinson’s last space sci-fi film saw the actor playing a prisoner made to serve his sentence on a shuttle hurtling toward a black hole (among other human-rights offenses, including really messed-up 𝑠e𝑥ual harassment). His next space drama? Mickey 17, a Bong Joon Ho joint based on the novel Mickey7, by Edward Ashton, which tells the story of an employee on an expedition to colonize an ice world — but he’s doing it only for the check. The Warner Bros. film, originally set to hit theaters on March 29, 2024, finally has a new release date. The film — written, directed, and produced by the Oscar-winning Parasite director — was previously delayed indefinitely. According to Variety, the movie needed more time to finish after the Hollywood strikes and other production shifts. It’s now set to hit theaters on January 31, 2025.

Not much has been said about the script, but the first look at the film depicts a comatose Pattinson emerging from sleep in what appears to be a cryogenic freezer in what seems like a tricked-out MRI machine in a long, sparse room. Steven Yeun (Minari), Naomi Ackie (I Wanna Dance With Somebody), Toni Collette (Hereditary), and Mark Ruffalo (the Hulk) round out the cast. If Bong’s previous films are anything to go by, Mickey 17 is likely shaping up to be another social thriller. We just hope it’ll thaw on schedule.