Based on the science fiction novel "Mickey 7" by Edward Ashton, "Mickey 17" revolves around Mickey (Robert Pattinson) - a man who is cloned multiple times on a space colonization mission.
As Bong Joon Ho's latest project after the success of "Parasite", the director put a lot of heart into it. For him, this is a humanistic science fiction film about a character facing harsh circumstances.
"Mickey's job is to constantly die or be assigned tasks with a high chance of dying and then dying. The number 17 means he has died 17 times. It's a really extreme job, an inhumane setup where people are printed out every time they die - like printing documents.
Mickey is a working-class person facing such harsh circumstances. It is not simply a story about the character's growth when going through difficult situations, the film also clearly shows the process of class struggle in society" - the 55-year-old director said.
Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson said that when he first received the script, he thought it was a simple film. But after careful analysis, the actor realized that there were many complex aspects of the character that he needed to portray.
"The script is very interesting. When I first read it, I was fooled because it seemed simple. But after I tried to ponder and understand the real psychology of why the character acted that way, the film became more complicated.
For me, it was extremely difficult to express the humor of the work when Mickey is a shy, helpless character who has never pitied himself."
The British star added that he had many different sources of inspiration when participating in this project.
"I don't think any amount of punishment can change Mickey. He had to die literally 17 times to realize how ruined his life was and learn to change it."
According to Bong Joon Ho, as soon as he wrote the script, Robert Pattinson was his choice for this role.
"Pattinson has had some great roles. Before working with him, I've always followed Pattinson. With "Mickey 17", he did a great job even though he had to play two roles - a silly, pitiful 17 and a strange, unpredictable but attractive 18."
“Mickey 17” officially opens in theaters in Korea on February 28 and globally in March.
