Mickey settles into his Expendable role on the four-year journey, dying and being reprinted several times, and even finds love with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie). The mission finally reaches Niflheim, and he’s soon on Version 17—thanks to being used to detect a deadly airborne virus, with multiple versions dying in the quest to develop a vaccine. As the colonists explore this cold new world, Mickey 17 falls into a deep fissure inhabited by native life forms that resemble macroscale tardigrades, dubbed “creepers.” Timo leaves Mickey for dead, assuming they’ll just eat him, but the creepers (who seem to share a hive mind) instead save Mickey’s life, returning him to the surface.
Warner Bros.
Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) failed to read the fine print when he signed up as an “Expendable.”
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Every time he dies, Mickey is reprinted and his consciousness restored.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Mickey’s best friend, Timo (Steve Yuen), snags a plum position as a pilot.
Warner Bros.
Every time he dies, Mickey is reprinted and his consciousness restored.
Warner Bros.
Mickey’s best friend, Timo (Steve Yuen), snags a plum position as a pilot.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
When Mickey gets back to his quarters, he finds his replacement, Mickey 18, is already there. The problem goes beyond Nasha’s opportunistic desire for an awkward threesome with the two Mickeys. Multiples are simply not allowed. The controversial reprinting technology isn’t even legal on Earth and was only allowed on the colonization mission with the understanding that any multiples would be killed immediately and their consciousness backup wiped—i.e., a permanent death.
A tale of two Mickeys
It’s Pattinson’s impressive dual performance as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 that anchors the film. They might be clones with identical physical traits and memories, but we learn there are subtle differences in all the printings. Mickey 17 is more laid-back, meekly suffering abuse in the name of progress, while Mickey 18 is more rebellious and frankly has some anger issues. Pattinson adopted two different accents to differentiate between the two. Mickey and Nasha’s love story is the movie’s heart; she loves him in all his incarnations, through death after death. The scene where she dons a hazmat suit to hold Mickey 14—or is it 15?—in his isolation chamber as he dies (yet again) from the airborne virus is among the film’s most touching.