The Walking Dead Star Joins Sci-Fi Clone Thriller
A The Walking Dead star has joined a major production and this could end up being one of the more intriguing movies out there.
This article is more than 2 years old
After working together on the 2017 Netflix feature Okja, Steven Yeun and Bong Joon Ho are reuniting for the director’s brand new sci-fi thriller at Warner Bros. The movie, which has yet to receive a title, is based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7 which was published in February. The book is described as Andy Wier’s The Martian meets Blake Crouch’s, Dark Matter. The film will star Robert Pattinson as Mickey, along with The Staircase’s Toni Collette, Marvel’s Mark Ruffalo, and British actress Naomi Ackie.
While it’s unclear how closely the Steven Yeun movie will follow the source material, the novel follows an expendable named Mickey7. Considered a disposable employee, he is sent on a human expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim. This is nothing unusual for him because whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous, the crew turns to Mickey. After one version of the expendable dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. But when Mickey7 is eventually presumed dead, he returns to the mission’s base only to find a new clone (called Mickey8) has taken his place.
Bong Joon Ho will write and direct Mickey7 which he is producing under his Offscreen banner. Kate Street Picture Company’s Dooho Choi and Plan B’s Dede Gardner are also producing alongside Jeremy Kleiner as part of the latter’s overall deal with Warner Bros. The collaboration between Bong, Choi, and Brad Pitt’s Plan B follows their success on Okja. Peter Dodd will oversee the project for the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter. There is currently no release date for the Steven Yeun starter.
Mickey7, featuring Steven Yeun, will be Bong’s first project since his 2019 film Parasite. The South Korean masterpiece captured the imagination of viewers around the world to become a cultural touch point. It also shattered box office records, grossing over $263 million on a budget of just $15.1 million. The genre-defying project was honored with the Cannes Palme d’Or and culminated with a historic night at the 92nd Academy Awards. It became the first non-English-language film to win the Best Picture Oscar, along with wins for Director, Original Screenplay, and International Feature Film award, Deadline reports.
Besides Mickey7, Steven Yeun has a pretty stacked job card for the year. The Walking Dead alum will be seen in Jordan Peele’s thriller Nope where he stars alongside Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer. The story follows residents of an isolated town who witness a mysterious and abnormal event. It is scheduled to be released on July 22nd, by Universal Pictures. As a voice actor, he returns to Tuca & Bertie for a third season, which premieres on Adult Swim on July 10th. The 38-year-old also has the Netflix comedy series called Beef with Ali Wong coming soon, though a release date has not been revealed.
Meanwhile, Steve Yeun recently received acclaim for his work in the 2020 drama film Minari. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards and earned Yeun some of the best reviews of his career. The high praise was followed by Oscar, SAG, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirt Award nominations for his efforts.
