Mickey 17 – a scifi comedy movie of errors (and deaths) on ice (2nd trailer).
When Bong Joon-ho, the mastermind behind Parasite, decides to direct a sci-fi black comedy about a bloke who dies for a living, you know you’re in for a cinematic experience that will likely leave you questioning everything from corporate ethics to how many times one man can regenerate before asking for a proper holiday. Enter Mickey 17, the latest effort from Hollywood’s perpetual human guinea pig, Robert Pattinson, who has traded brooding vampires and pointy-eared vigilantes for… multiple deaths on an ice planet.
Adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, the story centres on Mickey Barnes, an “Expendable” – which sounds like a depressing office nickname until you realise it’s his actual job title. Mickey’s gig involves tackling all the life-threatening jobs aboard a human colony ship sent to the ice world Niflheim, with the rather grim catch that death is, well, inevitable. But no worries, his employers assure him – they’ll just whip up a fresh new body and reload most of his memories. What could possibly go wrong?
The plot thickens (or ices over) when one of Mickey’s multiples, the eponymous Mickey 17, somehow survives a perilous mission and discovers he’s been replaced by Mickey 18. Cue existential crises, identity clashes, and the sort of workplace drama HR departments have nightmares about.
Bong Joon-ho has promised to strip Ashton’s 350-page novel down to a sleek 120-page script, because who needs all those words when you’ve got Robert Pattinson dying and regenerating on repeat? Ashton himself seems perfectly content with this surgical adaptation, claiming Bong has never made a bad film and that Mickey 17 won’t break that streak. Let’s hope he’s right, because having Brad Pitt as an executive producer can’t entirely save you from a critical mauling if things go sideways.
The cast reads like a dream line-up for the cinema nerds among us. Pattinson stars as Mickeys 1 through 19, while Naomi Ackie (The Rise of Skywalker), Steven Yeun (Nope), Toni Collette (Hereditary), and Mark Ruffalo (Hulk: Smash! Edition) lend their considerable talents to a story that promises as much humour as existential dread. Oh, and there’s a character called Shrimp Eyes, played by Angus Imrie, which frankly already deserves an Oscar.
Of course, the real star here might be Bong Joon-ho’s signature genre-bending style. If Parasite made you laugh, cry, and ponder class warfare, imagine what he’ll do with a script where workplace hazards include freezing to death or being casually replaced by a newer, shinier version of yourself. One can only hope the film leans into its black comedy roots – after all, nothing screams “corporate dystopia” quite like an HR policy that factors in your untimely demise.
The technical crew behind the film is equally impressive, with Parasite alumni handling the music and editing, and Oscar-nominated production and costume designers ensuring even the bleakest moments look stunning. Warner Bros. is already marketing Mickey 17 as “groundbreaking,” though whether it’ll break the ice planet market or just the audience’s brains remains to be seen.
Scheduled to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival this February, Mickey 17 hits UK cinemas on March 7th, 2025. Here at SFcrowsnest, we’re sharpening our pencils and preparing to write several thousand words on whether this is the next Snowpiercer or just a very fancy workplace health and safety video. Either way, it’ll be worth watching to see if Mickey finally asks for a raise… or a union.
