Walking onto the set of Bong Joon Ho’s highly anticipated Mickey 17, I’ve never felt so small. A soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England, has been transformed into the interior of a gargantuan spacecraft. I stand surrounded by a cavernous collage of practical sets, encapsulating me in a mechanical world that feels very far from home. In fact, the only thing about this place that feels semi-familiar is the dozens of people buzzing about, each working to refine the set’s design in some small way. The attention to detail is of absolute note here; each crew member and craftsperson works diligently to capture the essence of their visionary director’s story of the “expendable” named Mickey Barnes.
Bong Joon Ho has what Robert Pattison—who plays Mickey—calls “a very powerful aura.” He never struck me as the kind of filmmaker who takes himself too seriously, and his demeanor on today’s set only confirms that notion. Dressed in sneakers and a simple black t-shirt, he moves from department to department with a translator by his side and a smile on his face. Many directors openly bemoan the production process as anxiety-ridden and strenuous. Bong would not appear to fall in with this crowd. He seems strangely at ease here in the heart of production on his latest dazzler, happily conversing with collaborators and crew.
“The writing process is very lonely and very painful,” Bong says with a laugh. “Sometimes I don’t want to do it at all, but I always know it’s going to be over in six or eight months, so I face it head-on with that in mind. I try to make myself as lonely as possible. I tend to write better when I’m isolated.”
It was from one of these painful periods of isolation that the writer-director emerged with his newest script, Mickey 17, an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel, Mickey7.
“The novel’s basic sci-fi concept was very interesting, but I was struck by the story’s human touch,” says Bong. “It touches upon the human heart and the instincts we carry. From there, I felt certain I could draw out a lot of black comedy, humor and all sorts of interesting emotions. I knew that although this is a sci-fi story, it wouldn’t feel like sci-fi. It would be about the everyday human condition.”
Dooho Choi, Bong’s longtime producing partner, holds more insight than most on the inner workings of the filmmaker’s process. Over the course of their 14-year collaboration, Choi has witnessed first-hand the continued evolution of a filmmaker with “a lot on his mind.”
“He’s very passionate about social issues,” says Choi, “but he has a way of telling it in the most entertaining and funny way. He always likes to say, ‘We’re telling a story. We want to give the audience a ride, make them laugh and cry and just thoroughly enjoy themselves when they’re in the theater. But then, maybe as they’re going home on the bus or in the cab or they’re about to fall asleep, they start thinking about some of the ideas behind it.’ I think that’s the best kind of movie, where it’s not just pure popcorn, it’s that, plus an idea underneath it.”
Bong’s introduction to the project came when he was given the novel Mickey7, passed to him by Jeremy Kleiner, who, along with Dede Gardner, preside over Plan B, the Oscar-winning production company owned by Brad Pitt, as Co-Presidents. Previous collaborating producers on 2017’s Okja, they again serve as producers, along with Bong and Choi.
“I think what spoke to Bong, as with some of his other films” says Choi, “was the theme of the small guy or the little guy trying to survive in a system that is very oppressive. He gravitated to this notion of a working-class guy trying to just survive.”
“It’s also very funny,” interjects Bong. “It’s not a big space epic where people shoot laser beams. It’s about these silly losers. The story is packed with people who are endearingly silly.”
The director eagerly sought out Robert Pattinson to portray the film’s titular character after a long time spent observing his rise as a leading man.
“We’ve all known Robert since Harry Potter,” says Bong, “but I started seeing him under another light as an actor through Good Time with the Safdie brothers and his riveting performance in The Lighthouse with Willem Dafoe. He became an actor on another level with those two works. Same goes for The Batman. I thought Mickey 17 would ignite the ambitions he has as an actor, and that we would be able to have fun and inspire each other.”
Dressed in full costume with an unfortunate bowl haircut, Pattinson shares with me his equal admiration for Bong as I approach him during a lull between setups.
“I think nowadays there are very few directors in the world who are on Bong’s level,” says Pattinson. “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.’ Then the script came in, and it is one of the craziest things I’d ever read. It felt risky, but in a really nice way, and it is wonderful to do it with someone by whom you feel supported as well.”
Pattinson found in Bong’s script a protagonist of unexpected complexity.
“Mickey is a deceptively complicated character,” Pattinson explains. “At first glance, he seems like a simpleton, but he’s not. He has quite specific desires. He’s innocent and naïve in lots of ways. He comes from a place of extreme hurt and he’s trying to deal with a lot of trauma, but it manifests itself looking quite silly to other people. But it’s not silly to him.”
In the film, Mark Ruffalo portrays Kenneth Marshall—a committed former politician hell-bent on delivering his followers to a pristine new world, Niflheim, filled with Utopian promise.
“When I first read the script, it was both exciting and totally intimidating,” admits Ruffalo. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was the right fit—I had never played a character like this before. When I met Director Bong, I said, ‘I don’t know if I’m the right person for this…’ And he replied, ‘What are you talking about? I wrote it with your voice in my head.’ I was shocked—and so honored.”
The film boasts an ensemble cast of amazingly talented performers, many of whom are set to appear in the upcoming scene.
Toni Collette plays Marshall’s wife, Ylfa. Director Bong explains, “There’s a specific dynamic between the couple that’s another small engine that drives the story. Steven Yeun plays Timo. As I mentioned earlier, this film is sci-fi, but it doesn’t really feel like sci-fi. Steven really adds to this not sci-fi aspect. He makes the film feel very unique. And Naomi brings the heart, and she has such explosive energy.”
Adding to the production’s uniqueness are the few dozen craftspeople working diligently behind the camera, exactingly culling Director Bong’s world within our own.
“My role on this project is to do as much in camera as possible,” says VFX Supervisor Dom Tuohy. “Director Bong wants to do everything practically, and for us as a department, that’s what it’s all about. I personally think that’s the way to go.”
For Tuohy, the director’s reputation proved to be more than just a movie industry legend. “Look, everyone does these interviews,” says Tuohy, “and everyone says, ‘Oh, the director is amazing.’ Director Bong is the best person I’ve ever worked with.”
The respect seems mutual and palpable as Director Bong gushes over his crew.
“We have the great cinematographer Darius Khondji,” says Bong, “a true artist who also did Okja with me. Production designer Fiona Crombie, who’s recently done amazing work with Yorgos Lanthimos. Our composer is Jung Jaeil; this is our third film together. And our costume designer is Catherine George—she’s a longtime colleague and it’s always a joy to see the costumes she comes up with.”
“The film is deeply original,” says Crombie, “and I don’t think Director Bong can have it any other way. He just cannot help it. It’s in every fiber of his being.”
Finally, cameras begin to roll on the scene Bong’s crew has been preparing for all day. Director Bong works off of his infamously detailed storyboards, never shooting anything extraneous or self-indulgent—only that which is necessary to the telling of the story. However, when it comes to performance, the goal seems much more abstract.
“I’m very obsessed with storyboards—I can’t make films without them,” says Bong. “But, in terms of the actors’ performances, I try to stay as open as possible. I always welcome improvisation. It’s a contradiction. I have the camera placement and framing firmly established from my storyboards, but I tell the actors to be as comfortable and as free as possible within that. It’s a paradox, but that’s how I work.”
This approach says a lot about the film being made, and the filmmaker making it. The future often seems like an unfamiliar place. With the rebirth and privatization of the space race, the stampeding advancement of artificial intelligence, and an ever-growing dependency on cold, unfeeling machines, life has never felt more like the inside of a lonely spacecraft. The only familiarity to cling to in the future will be our most basic sense of humanity. Even in the depths of outer space, if humans are present, the flame of love and kindness stands the chance to burn bright in the darkness.
“This is a sci-fi film, but it’s also a comedy, a very human story,” Director Bong tells me as he and his crew wrap up the day. “I hope the audience enjoys it for what it is. And when they go home after watching it, I hope they spend a brief moment thinking about what makes us human, what we must do to stay human.
“Just briefly” he quickly adds, with his near trademark glee. “Three minutes, maybe.”
Mickey 17 opens 7 March 2025 in South African cinemas
