Bong Joon Ho says Mark Ruffalo's Mickey 17 villain isn't a Trump parody

Bong Joon Ho is well aware that audiences see Donald Trump in Kenneth Marshall, the egomaniacal politician played by a delightfully absurd Mark Ruffalo in his new sci-fi comedy, Mickey 17. However, no one particular politician inspired the villain.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly alongside his translator, Sharon Choi, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind such cultural touchstones as Parasite and The Host says the film's antagonist was inspired by "a mix of many different politicians" and "dictators that we have seen throughout history."

Adapted from Edward Ashton's Mickey7 novel, Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, a man on the run who haphazardly applies to become an "expendable" — an endlessly cloned crew member assigned to dangerous, often fatal tasks — aboard a space expedition to colonize the ice planet Niflheim. Every time Mickey dies on the job, a new body is regenerated with his memories intact.

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The expedition is led by Ruffalo's buffoonish Marshall, who bears a striking resemblance to the current U.S. president — not just in his vocal inflection but mannerisms. He even hosts his own show aboard the ship, albeit without the "you're fired!" catchphrase. 

Addressing these perceived parallels, Bong notes that distressed audiences might be projecting their own fears onto the character. "When we showed the film in Berlin and talked to people from many different countries, it seemed like people were projecting the most stressful political leader onto the character of Marshall," says the filmmaker. 

Bong also notes the significance of Marshall's wife Gwen, his equally-outlandish right-hand-woman played by Toni Collette. Here, he points to more specific figures. "They move as a couple," Bong explains. "To me, that was quite important. So think about the Ceaușescu couple from Romania and the Marcos couple from the Philippines. It's always very uncanny when dictators move as couples. It makes them even more ridiculous and more terrifying. And it's true love that [the characters] have." 

Take note of that true love sentiment. Though the movie, as with his previous works, has political undertones (this time about colonialism and fascism, among other themes), Bong considers it more of a love story than a political one. "Although Mickey 17 has all these political layers, in the end, the story really revolves around this individual of Mickey," Bong says.

Pointing to the companionship between Mickey and Naomi Ackie's Nasha, he adds, "In the end, the story is: how does he manage to survive this horrible system and not get destroyed? How does he manage to protect himself? And that's why Nasha is so important for this film. For me, the film is a love story."

As for whether the filmmaker has any thoughts on Trump's displeased reaction to Parasite's historic win at the 2020 Oscars, he says, "I'm not a petty person. I don't hold it against him. He can have his own opinion. He mentioned Gone With the Wind and Sunset Boulevard. I like Sunset Boulevard. Billy Wilder is amazing."

Mickey 17 arrives in theaters on March 7.