Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho, who made awards history with his thriller ‘Parasite’, is shooting his next feature at Warner Bros.
Robert Pattinson, who will soon appear as the Caped Crusader in “The Batman,” is set to star in the sci-fi story, an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s upcoming novel “Mickey7.”
More Variety
According to the book’s publisher, St. Martin Press, the high-profile cerebral thriller is best described as “The Martian” meets “Dark Matter.” The story is about a “consumable” – a disposable employee of a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Nifheim – who refuses to let his replacement clone, nicknamed Mickey 8, take his place.
In an early review, author Jason Pargin called the novel “a unique blend of thought-provoking sci-fi concepts, wacky relationship drama, and exotic body humor”.
“Edward Ashton keeps it all grounded via a protagonist who experiences the wonders of interstellar travel and extraterrestrial contact while having literally the worst job in the universe,” Pargin wrote. “The result is by turns fun, intriguing and horrifying, with each chapter seeming to engage a different part of your brain.”
Plot details for the film have not been confirmed, and it’s unclear to what extent Bong plans to stick with the source material. Ashton’s book is set to be published in February 2022.
The new film marks Bong’s second deal with WarnerMedia in recent months following an HBO limited series based on “Parasite,” which is currently in the works with Adam McKay.
The as-yet-untitled film is Bong’s first film since “Parasite,” which became the highest-grossing South Korean film in history, as well as the first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Of its six Oscar nominations, the twisted dark comedy has won awards for Original Screenplay, Director and International Feature Film. Before ‘Parasite’ made a splash, Bong was known for such acclaimed films as ‘Snowpiercer’, ‘The Host’, ‘Okja’ and ‘Barking Dogs Never Bite’.
Bong will also produce the upcoming film through his company Offscreen, along with Plan B’s Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner and Kate Street Pictures’ Dooho Choi. Peter Dodd will oversee on behalf of the studio.
Deadline Hollywood broke the news for the first time.
The best of variety
Subscribe to the Variety newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
