Warning: This article contains spoilers for Mickey 17Mickey 17 director Bong Joon Ho explains the movie’s unique credit within its end тιтles. The new release is a wacky sci-fi comedy that is already bringing in strong reviews from critics, with ScreenRant‘s Alex Harrison giving Mickey 17 eight out of 10 stars. The movie stars Robert Pattinson as a member of a space colony, where his character, Mickey Barnes, works as an “expendable.” In this role, Mickey is expected to work countless hours, with his ultimate purpose being to die and then be reprinted.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Bong explained Mickey 17‘s тιтle card, specifically how the sequence transforms. When the тιтle card flashes, it first reads “Mickey 17,” but this changes to read “Mickey 18.” The movie then returns to its beginning, in a scene featuring Mickey trapped in an icy cave. Later on, at the end of the film, the тιтle card switches to “Mickey Barnes.” Bong stated:

So this film is kind of a journey that our main character Mickey takes regarding his selfhood. Most of the film is led by Mickey 17. And then we have the main тιтle, you hear a bell chime, the 17 turns to 18, and then we go to Mickey in the cave, and he goes through all these different stages to finally reclaim his selfhood and find self respect as just Mickey Barnes. And in that sense, it’s a coming-of-age story.

And that’s why I chose the number 18, because that’s when most societies recognize someone as an adult.

What This Means For Mickey 17

The Opening Change Sets Up The Characters

Bong explained how Mickey 17‘s opening sequence is a way to shift the focus from the first Mickey viewers meet, Mickey 17, to his next version, Mickey 18. Showing the тιтle card as “Mickey 17” initially sets up the story to be led by that version of Pattinson’s character, but the clever change to “18” reveals there’s another Mickey coming into the equation. Per Bong, the use of 18 is also inspired by most countries defining adulthood at eighteen years old.

Mickey 18 taking over the movie’s тιтle card is symbolic of his actions throughout the story. When Mickey 17 is presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, Mickey 18 is quick to shack up with the former’s girlfriend, Nasha (Naomi Ackie), and resume his role as an expendable. However, both Mickeys are soon forced to work together, which ultimately leads to freedom for expendables everywhere. During the Mickey 17 ending, the тιтle card flips from “Mickey 18” back to “Mickey 17” and, finally, to “Mickey Barnes,” which is his true name.

Our Take On Mickey 17’s тιтle Card

The Credit Is A Clever Way To Start The Story

Bong was clever to start the film with this тιтle card as it sets the stage for the wild ride that is Mickey 17. Just from this simple sequence, we learn that Mickey 18 is going to take over Mickey 17 in some capacity. We also learn about the characters, with 17 being more meek and 18 being more aggressive. Bong effectively uses the Mickey 17 тιтle sequence as a way to set up the different versions of Mickey, which ultimately ties back to his original idenтιтy as Mickey Barnes, which appears during the film’s final credits.

Source: GamesRadar+