BONG JOON-HO HEADS OFF-WORLD

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MICKEY7, THE DIRECTOR’S HOTLY ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO PARASITE

IT’LL TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER PLANET

“You’ve done well. Now rest. But don’t rest for too long,” Martin Scorsese warned Bong Joon-ho following his 2019 Oscar sweep. He didn’t need to worry, because the South Korean filmmaker is about to embark on what might be his most ambitious venture yet, an interplanetary adventure based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel The film — set to shoot soon at London’s Leavesden Studios — is partly set on a frozen world (think Snowpiercer but, well, snowier) that humankind hopes to colonise.

IT STARS ROBERT PATTINSON(S) IN CLONE FORM

Joining Bong alum Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo on the film, Pattinson plays Mickey7, the sixth clone of a man named Mickey who has signed up for high-risk missions on the understanding that he’ll die and be replicated. These suicide soldiers are also known as Expendables, though don’t expect Sly Stallone to show up with a motley crew of mercenaries.

THERE’LL BE CLASS WARFARE APLENTY

Rich vs. poor is Bong’s bread and butter, with class wars at the heart of Parasite, Snowpiercer and The Host. Mickey7 is no exception. Lower-class recruits make up the Expendables on account of their disposability, and the novel promises a class conflict akin to Parasite as Mickey tackles superiors such as the villainous Commander Marshall.

EXPECT MONSTERS

Ashton’s novel features aliens called Creepers, inspired by giant, centipede-like creatures in the animated series Steven Universe (the author watched the show with his kids). Bong’s films are stacked with impressive creature design, from The Host’s toothy monster to Okja’s super-pigs, meaning the Creepers will likely be spectacularly formidable foes.