Robert Pattinson’s new movie Mickey 17 has been delayed indefinitely on the 2024 movie schedule. But when we dig into everything we know about Mickey 17, there’s still some interesting details to ponder. Director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film originally was slated to open in March. And now I’m simultaneously even more bummed, but also more intrigued to see this picture, thanks to co-star Mark Ruffalo sharing details on his own role.
Speaking with Deadline, the Poor Things actor and MCU veteran admitted to being reticent to play villains before his role in one of 2023’s best movies. However, that has introduced the actor to what Ruffalo himself considers “a whole new era,” which apparently includes playing a real piece of work in Mickey 17. At least, that’s how he made it sound, based on the following description he gave:
This guy’s like a nasty dictator, fascist, narcissist; we know the type! He’s as bad as any of these assholes running around today.
Whoo-boy! I know that Mark Ruffalo once played a character that said his secret was that he was always angry, but that layout definitely takes the cake. And the premise of Mickey 17’s literary source is the first clue to why, as according to the movie’s Wikipedia page, Ruffalo is playing the character of Hieronymous Marshall, the commander of the colony Niflheim.
There is a somewhat reasonable cause to the anxiety that may be causing our “nasty dictator” to be a bit short: indigenous life on the planet Niflheim seems to be posing a threat. Reading through the details given by Mark Ruffalo, as well as the synopsis for author Edward Ashton’s book Mickey 7, some aspects of this mysterious movie are clearer.
Not only does this window into Mark’s character give us the promise that this villain era could see the world enjoying even more over the top antics from the Zodiac star, it also shows why Bong Joon-ho loves this project so much. Much like in Parasite, his 2020 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, the South Korean writer/director is playing with themes that hit close to home.
With Mickey 17’s “expendable” lead (Pattinson) being depended on to do the dangerous dirty work on Niflheim, only to be cloned and sent back to work after each death, more of Bong Joon-ho's brand of satire seems to be at work in this sci-fi mindbender. Which is only made more exciting when considering Mark Ruffalo’s own public activism; a factor that probably helped the MCU’s Hulk sign on himself.
With a formula that seems to be adding top tier talent, cutting edge sci-fi, and a message about today told in the far flung future, Mickey 17 is definitely something I’m looking forward to. So the fact that it’s been delayed indefinitely due to post-production work only sends me back to being bummed out.
However, that does give me, and any of you readers like me, more time to read both of Edward Ashton’s books in this series. Speaking of reading materials, you can check out our guide to upcoming book-to-movie adaptations, in hopes of keeping yourself prepared to dig into all of the differences and discourse to come. Not to mention, there’s the eventual opportunity to judge if Mark Ruffalo’s Hieronymous Marshall is a bigger fascist on or off the page; feedback I somehow think he’d appreciate.
