Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho, who shot to fame with his film ‘Parasite’, is set to shake up the big screen with his latest cinematic venture, ‘Mickey 17‘ starring Robert Pattinson in the lead.
In the lead up to the film’s global release, Pattinson has been sharing his admiration for Bong’s filmmaking style and also expressed his eagerness to work with him. In a statement to ETimes, the former ‘Twilight’ star opened up about his collaboration with the director saying, “I think nowadays there are very few directors in the world who are on Bong’s level and have the audience that Bong has as well. He’s living in very rarified air. I’ve just been such a huge fan of his. And it just came out of nowhere—‘There’s a Bong project.’ I met him and really loved him. Then the script came in, and it is one of the craziest things I’d ever read.”
Pattinson also spoke about Bong’s unique approach to directing, which differs significantly from traditional Hollywood filmmaking. He explained, “Bong kind of warned me at the beginning, saying that it’s quite a shock to the system for actors when you don’t shoot coverage… which is like every movie you’ve ever worked on.”
“We were shooting one line and moving on—genuinely like one line from the middle of the scene. You really have to get with the program pretty quickly.”
Despite the unconventional shooting process, Pattinson found Bong’s method to be highly engaging, saying, “Bong edits at the same time, and he was very open with showing me. You can really watch what you’re doing, if it’s fitting into the scene. It’s an extremely collaborative process, and you don’t feel disconnected from it at all.”
‘Mickey 17’, adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, follows an unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes, who works for an employer demanding the ultimate sacrifice—dying for a living. The film boasts an ensemble cast, including Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo.
The film is set for a global theatrical release, including in IMAX, on March 7, 2025.