Robert Pattinson managed to quell the fans, internet bores, and critics in 2022 by impressing in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, despite being met with a lot of skepticism when he was first cast as the caped crusader. For his upcoming new movie, Pattinson has teamed up with Bong Joon-ho, on his first movie since winning multiple Oscars for Parasite – which is already making best movie of all time lists. And for an added Brucey bonus – we’ll be getting two R-Patzs for the price of one.
“It’s with Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and it’s like nothing I’ve ever done before,” Pattinson says, in a new interview with The Evening Standard. “The movie is so crazy, it’s a completely different style of working.” In the film – Mickey 17, based on a dystopian sci-fi novel by Edward Ashton – Pattinson plays two versions of himself (both clones) who team up to work together.
“It’s so much talking,” he says. He’s been living the Alan Partridge life in a hotel in Bedford near a vast airport hangar where they’ve built the set. In the evenings he has been back in his room, getting increasingly worried that it might be haunted. “Anyway, today I just realised that I’m probably not seeing ghosts – it’s probably just because I’ve been drinking about 17 cups of coffee a day.”
Since breaking through in the Harry Potter and Twilight movies, Pattinson has certainly challenged himself to work on unusual projects with directors mostly outside of the mainstream. He has worked with David Cronenberg, David Michod, Anton Corbijn, James Gray, the Safdie Brothers, Claire Denis, Robert Eggers, Antonio Campos, and Christopher Nolan.
Bong Joon-ho was already an acclaimed director, working mainly in Korea before the massive global success of Parasite. Since 2000, he has worked in many genres including noir (Memories of Murder and Mother) and monster movies (The Host and Okja). His one English-language movie (so far) Snowpiercer suffered from attempted studio interference and didn’t get the kind of release it deserved, but has since become a cult classic.
Additional cast-members of Mickey 17 include Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, and Naomi Ackie. It is set for release sometime in 2024. While we wait to hear more, check out our guide to the best science fiction movies.