Summary
Parasitedirector, Bong Joon-ho, will make his return with the adaptation ofMickey17in January. The film, which recently released its first trailer, is a quirky science fiction film led byThe Batmanactor, Robert Pattinson. It’s being released byWarner Bros.and its release date isset to coincide with the Korean New Yearnext year. However, despite the trailer, it’s clear many still don’t know whatMickey17is actually based on.
TheWarner Bros.flick, whichmarks a return to science fictionfor Joon-ho, is yet another adaptation for the director. Joon-ho, of course,famously helmed an adaptation ofSnowpiercer, which was apctually based on the graphic novel,Le Transperceneige/The Escape. In the case ofMickey17, the forthcoming film is actually based on the novelMickey7by author Edward Ashton. So, why do the movie and the book share different names? And what exactly is the story that’s being told within both mediums?
What is the Book Mickey7 About?
Edward Ashton, who helped to pen theMickey17adaptation with Joon-ho, releasedMickey7in 2022. The novel, which is actually titledMickey7, isthe first of two books, with the second book,Antimatter Blueshaving been released last year. The world ofMickey7is expected to expand yet again with the release of a third and final book, although details surrounding that installment are currently sparse. The series focuses on Mickey, who is viewed as a disposable employee, also known as an Expendable, who is ultimately set on a mission deemed too dangerous for humans. He is to help colonize an ice planet named Niflheim. This is because when Mickey dies, he is able to regenerate within a new body while still maintaining most of his memories from the previous body. In the book, following his sixth death, Mickey finally comes to understand what he is and why the position was vacant when he took on the position. It’s with the seventh version of Mickey, aka Mickey7, that things begin to change. After Mickey7 goes missing during a mission and is presumed dead, an eighth Mickey is generated. There’s a problem, though, as Mickey7 didn’t actually die, resulting in two Mickeys being alive at the same time. If it’s found out that there are duplicate Expendables in existence, both will be hunted and killed, resulting in Mickey7 going into hiding and ensuring the rest of the population doesn’t come upon his secret.
As things continue to get worse on Niflheim, with food being in short supply and the humans struggling to live within the atmosphere of the planet, Mickey7 is forced to step in. In order for both species to survive, Mickey7 will ultimately need to step in and save them both.
What Changes Can be Expected Between the Book and Movie
With Ashton on board as the co-screenwriter, it’s unsurprising that most of the book’s story is followed heavily in the adaptation. The decision to change the name of the film seems to simply be because the movie opted to change the amount of duplicate Expendables shown on screen. Rather than having Pattinson portray eight versions of Mickey, he’ll now have the chance at playing eighteen different versions of the character. The movie does seem to have a light tone to it, like the book, with Mickey17 and Mickey18 even getting a few humorous moments peppered throughoutthe first trailer for the film. Perhaps the most interesting part of the trailer, though, is how it sets up its premise. The book does use flashbacks to tell Mickey’s story, something the film doesn’t necessarily have to do as it can tell Mickey’s story of how he became an Expendable early on. More importantly, though, it seems to have truly captured moments directly from the book, including the moment the two Mickeys meet each other in their bed. For Joon-ho, who iscoming off winning an Oscar for Parasite,Mickey17is a surprising next move, however, the director is a big fan of the book.
Not only was Ashton involved with the process, but the author also joked that Joon-ho knew the book better than him and sought to ensure he kept in the Ashton’s “must-film” moment. In a recent interview withSUNY Brockport, Ashton revealed that he met with Joon-ho via Zoom before the director signed on to direct the movie, where they took a deep dive into the book and got to know each other before Joon-ho eventually decided to tackle the project. The project will clearly deviate some from the novel, after all,they did add ten more deathsfor Mickey on the big screen. Still, it seems like the core premise of the book and its wit and humor have managed to be captured successfully in Joon-ho’s take onthe science fiction novel.
