Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo are in negotiations to join the cast of the next film from “Parasite” director Bong Joon-Ho that’s set at Warner Bros., an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Robert Pattinson is set to star in the film, which will be based on an upcoming book by Edward Ashton called “Mickey7.” Naomi Ackie also recently joined the cast.
Bong will also produce through his company Offscreen alongside Dooho Choi for Kate Street Picture Company and Plan B.
The book is a science fiction story from the author of “Three Days in April” and “The End of Ordinary” and is described by its publisher as “The Martian” meets “Dark Matter.” The book was recently published through St. Martin, a MacMillan imprint.
The story follows what’s known as an “Expendable,” a clone and someone created as a disposable human designed only for the deadliest of jobs, who after each new death is regenerated with most of their previous memories intact. After six deaths on the job colonizing a deadly ice planet, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead, but when his next iteration Mickey8 is sent out on the job, he’s determined to keep himself alive and from being replaced by the other Expendable.
Bong’s last film was “Parasite” in 2019, which won the Palme D’Or and Best Picture at the Oscars, as well as Best Director and Best Screenplay for Bong. The film made history as the first movie not in the English language to ever win Best Picture. But Bong has also dabbled in the English language before with “Snowpiercer” and “Okja” before “Parasite,” and he’s executive producing an HBO limited series based on “Parasite” along with Adam McKay.
Collette is currently starring in HBO”s limited series “The Staircase,” where she is garnering rave reviews for her portrayal of murder victim Kathleen Peterson.
Ruffalo was most recently seen in “The Adam Project” on Netflix and will next be seen reprising his role as Bruce Banner in Marvel’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.”
Ackie broke out in “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” and will next be seen as Whitney Houston in the biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Collette is repped by CAA, FINLEY Management, United Management and Jackoway Law. Ruffalo is repped by Lighthouse Management & Media, UTA, Relevant and Keith Klevan. Ackie is repped by CAA, Hamilton Hodell, Range Media Partners and Peikoff Mahan Law Office.
Deadline first reported the news.