… every A-lister in their 30s was chasing the role. It wasn’t long before Bong and execs were impressed with Pattinson following his meeting and felt he was perfect for the role, with an offer going out right before the new year.
Deadline, 20 January 2022
UPDATE: 28 April 2022
So Edward Ashton tweeted out movieweb’s article on Mickey7. I’ve got this book lined up to read next and am so looking forward to it. Although Rob still hasn’t officially been confirmed (Bong Joon would be nuts not to secure him), this is what Movieweb had to say:
Set in a future where humans are colonizing distant planets and cloning is a reality, the upcoming film will mark Bong’s first foray into intergalactic science fiction. His previous sci-fi films have been strictly terrestrial.
This should be an interesting change of pace from the realistic class comedy/drama/horror Parasite, but don’t expect the auteur to lay off on the earthly social commentary: Bong has explored many genres and has always grounded his films in contemporary satire, no matter how fantastical the story. He has a deep understanding of the relationship between genre tropes and sociology and has used movie formulas to explicitly explore themes implicit in the genres themselves (e.g., environmental terror and neglect in the monster movie are made overt in the Host (2006), while class inequality and social Darwinism in the dystopian sci-fi thriller is explored and subverted in Snowpiercer (2013), Bong’s first English language film).
The Mickey7 novel is full of ideas about labor, corporate control, and colonialism, all told through the protagonist’s gallows humor. There’s plenty of room for Bong’s satire and directorial trademarks to shine through.
…
Robert Pattinson is in talks to star in the new film. This will mark the first collaboration between the actor and Bong Joon-Ho, but the pair seem like an excellent match. Pattinson has established his acting chops, shedding the pretty boy image cultivated in the Twilight Films and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In recent years Pattinson has worked predominantly in auteur-driven cinema, kinetic films with brooding atmosphere, and occasionally absurd humor, such as Good Time (2017) and the Lighthouse (2019). While both of those films are utterly unique, they share common artistry, tension, and strangeness with the films of Bong Joon-Ho, and Pattinson is no doubt up for the plunge into his dark, chaotic world. Though little is known about the casting (or the screenplay), we can assume that Pattinson will take on the role of Mickey and his various incarnations.
