4 Biggest Differences Between Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 and the Original Book
A different amount of Mickeys, a darker background for Alan Manikova and the different decision Kai made.
On March 7, the science fiction movie Mickey 17 by Bong Joon Ho was released. The movie is based on the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton.
The director made a free adaptation of the book, changing many details. Here we will analyze four main differences between the movie and the novel.
1. In the Book, Mickey Made a Conscious Decision to Take the Job as Expendable
Earthling Mickey and his friend Timo started a business, but it failed and they fell into serious debt. The men fled Earth and became colonists of the ice world of Niflheim.
Timo got a decent job as a pilot. Mickey signed up as an expendable employee – they are sent on obviously deadly missions.
In the book, Mickey is not from Earth, but from one of the colonies – Midgard. He also owed a lot of money and volunteered to be an expendable, knowing that he could suffer. On screen, Mickey missed part of the instructions and only later found out what kind of job he had signed up for.
2. There Were Eight Mickeys in The Book
The main character of the movie is Mickey 17 – that is, the 17th version of Mickey, counting the original one. The clone went on another dangerous mission and fell into a ravine where he was attacked by a monster that did not eat Mickey 17, but helped him get out.
In the book, the alien even took Mickey back to the colony – but kidnapped one person. In his room, Mickey 17 found the newly printed Mickey 18. At the same time, Mickey 17 was presumed dead.
In the book, the main character was Mickey 7, so after he disappeared, Mickey 8 was activated. Bong Joon Ho wanted to kill more Mickeys to show how cruel the leaders and scientists of Niflheim are.
3. Alan Manikova Was an Even Bigger Villain in the Book
Mickey 17 and 18 hid from the leadership, since the creation of duplicates is forbidden. In the movie, cloning was forbidden on many planets. The expedition's leader, Kenneth Marshall, got permission to use expendable clones – on the condition that there be only one clone for the entire colony.
Expendables were rarely created voluntarily – criminals were often forced to do so. One day, the psychopath Alan Manikova multiplied his own copies and began killing people, using the clones as an alibi. Largely because of him, a decree was issued that a person could only have one living clone.
In the book, Alan has a more extensive history. He created a whole army of clones and took over the planet Gault. In the end, the planet was destroyed because Alan could become a threat of universal proportions.
4. In the Book, Kai Ended Up Betraying Mickey
Mickey 17, like Mickey 7 in the novel, has a close relationship with security guard Nasha, who was the first to learn of the duplicate. Then security guard Kai found out about Mickey 18. She wanted to tell her superiors, but Nasha convinced her not to.
In the book, Kai betrayed Mickey. She regretted it, but due to her job responsibilities, she could not help but report a possible threat. Nevertheless, Kai and Mickey remained friends.
