Robert Pattinson and His Clones in Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’
Mickey 17 has been the subject of much curiosity, given that it is Bong’s first film since Parasite swept the Oscars in 2019.
The new feature also took a bit longer than expected to emerge, after postproduction delays pushed the film from a March 2024 release into 2025.
The Berlin Film Festival got a double dose of Robert Pattinson with the premiere of Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 on Saturday night, Feb 15.
The actor, who plays an explorer and his clone in this trippy sci-fi adventure, double the cheering inside the theater after the film’s credits rolled.
Mickey 17 received one of the most enthusiastic receptions at the festival so far. The crowd at the Berlinale Palast Theater showered Bong’s latest parable with a standing ovation that only lasted for one minute but would have gone on longer if not for an interruption. Berlin’s new chief Tricia Tuttle stopped the cheering to bring Bong onstage for a brief Q&A.
“Mickey 17,” which will open in theaters on March 7 from Warner Bros., is set in a dystopian universe where an aimless Mickey flees Earth on a spaceship by agreeing to become “an expandable,” donating his body to the mission. Mickey embarks on dangerous tasks that lead to his death (over and over again), but he returns via clones of himself; his memory remains intact through a state-of-the-art printing machine.
Pattinson, who attended the premiere in an all-black ensemble that included a leather coat, arrived early in the night — signing autographs and taking many selfies on his way inside the theater.
The crowd outside chanted, showering him with the kind of movie-star welcome he was accustomed to during the peak of his “Twilight” years.
They even get steamy with her in a scene that resembles the threesome love triangle from Challengers.
Other cast in attendance included Steven Yeun and Toni Collette.
Tilda Swinton, who famously played a tyrant in 2013’s “Snowpiecer,” attended the screening after accepting an honorary Golden Bear for career achievement on Thursday night. As the movie was about to start, Pattinson and Bong flashed the crowd a love sign, each putting up a half-circle hand gesture to create a complete full heart.
“Mickey 17” is Bong’s first film since 2019’s “Parasite,” which debuted in Cannes to a five-minute standing ovation and went on to win the Oscar for best picture.
Bong’s filmography – from 2006’s “The Host” to 2017’s “Okja” – often tackles themes of identity, society and class warfare, which “Mickey 17” pushes further with a Trump-like politician played by Mark Ruffalo.
“Some of the people I took as a reference were Korea’s bad leaders of the past, or dictators from elsewhere, but I didn’t use any actual politicians from today,” Bong said in response to a journalist’s question about whether some of Ruffalo’s flamboyant gestures were intended as a reference to President Doland Trump.
“I created this character in a comical way by drawing inspiration from past figures, but since history always repeats itself, it might seem like I’m referring to someone in the present,” Bong added.
The director said that he strove to infuse his story with as much emotional realism as possible despite its fantastical elements.
“Although it’s a story of the future, it kind of seems like it could happen in the present or the past,” he said. “This is why I really like the fantasy genres – because the characters can be very human so that they don’t feel limited to sci-fi.”
Bong noted that Mickey 17 also contains the first love story of his filmography, a romance between Pattinson’s clone and another space character.
“I want to make a film in every genre,” the director said. “That’s my life goal – although I’m a little scared of musicals,” he added.
The film bowed first in South Korea on Jan. 28, and it will roll out in the U.S. on March 7. Warner Bros. is releasing the film worldwide.
The film, which costs $118 million to make, is tracking to open at just under $20 million in the US.
However, it’s possible that good word-of-mouth and reviews from Berlin could help boost its box office prospects.
