'Parasite' Director Bong Joon-ho Set To Cast 'The Batman' Star Robert Pattinson In New Film Project

Nearly two years after the success of the Oscar award-winning film Parasite, director Bong Joon-ho is all set to make another film. DEADLINE has reported that he will be adapting the upcoming novel, Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. Bong will be writing and directing the movie adaptation. In fact, he already has an actor in mind, making the prospects of the movie that much more exciting. 

Bong has his eyes set on casting The Batman star, Robert Pattinson in his untitled project. The film will be made for Warner Bros. with Bong producing as well, for his production company Offscreen, along with Dooho Choi for Kate Street Picture Company, and Plan B.

Mickey7 has not yet been published and is expected to hit shelves from February 15 this year. It is a thriller sci-fi book that is being described as "The Martian meets Dark Matter." Bong received the manuscript for the unpublished book back in 2021. The book was immediately able to capture his attention. The story follows the titular Mickey7 who is an Expendable, a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. In the situation that a mission becomes too dangerous, the crew turns to Mickey to take the bullet. A new body is then generated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

As per the synopsis on the book's Macmillan Publisher's page, things go awry when Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. Mickey8 has already been cloned which only means danger for Mickey7. He must now survive the deadly consequences of becoming a duplicate even as life on Niflheim goes downhill. 

Known for his distinct style of dealing with social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts, the premise of this book is right up Bong's alley. This is also not his first Hollywood direction. He has previously directed the 2013 film Snowpiercer starring Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Go Ah-sung, John Hurt, and Ed Harris. This film was also an adaptation of the sci-fi, post-apocalyptic French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob. The film received critical acclaim as well.

Currently, Bong along with the execs have already met with Pattinson and felt he was perfect for the role. He will probably be met with an offer before the end of the year. Pattinson's much-awaited film, The Batman will be released on March 4. As for Bong, he has many more projects to look forward to meanwhile, including the HBO limited series based on Parasite with him executive producing alongside Don't Look Up writer, Adam McKay.