Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mickey 17!

Robert Pattinson plays multiples of Mickey Barnes in Mickey 17, but the film's primary versions, Mickey 17 and Mickey 18, are quite different. Bong Joon-ho's 2025 sci-fi movie is an adaptation of Ashton Edward's novel that follows Mickey sign up as a member of the Expendable Program for humanity's journey to Niflheim. This grants scientists the ability to reprint a perfect copy of his body every time he dies, and he often dies due to the requirements of his job. The 17th copy of Mickey is the main character in the film, but everything changes when he survives an expected death and encounters Mickey 18.

To the naked eye, there is nothing different about Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. The duplicates are identical in their appearance. However, the movie quickly makes it clear that Mickey 18 is very different from Mickey 17. Their differences become more apparent as the movie plays out and their contrasts shine. Other characters readily accept the unique traits of each, but the explanation for why Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 have these differences is not a major part of Mickey 17's ending. The explanation instead is seeded throughout the movie.

How Mickey 17 & Mickey 18 Are Different

They Might Look The Same, But They're Not Identical

After the initial shock of seeing two Robert Pattinsons next to each other wears off, how different Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are becomes clear. Mickey 17 is naive, fearful, gentle, funny, timid, and polite. He also thinks he's a total loser, someone who isn't even good enough for the Creepers to eat. His personality traits can be seen in a variety of scenes, such as Timo wanting to kill him, Marshall and the scientists poking and prodding him during dinner, or his interactions with Nasha and the Creepers.

These characteristics align with how Mickey 17 shows the earlier version of Mickey Barnes. That's what makes Mickey 18 such an unexpected presence in the film. Mickey 18 is much angrier, more unpredictable, ready for a fight, and confident in who he is, what he wants, and in his decisions. This can be seen in moments where he's furious that Mickey 17 didn't tell off Mickey 17's Donald Trump parody Marshall, attempts to start a threesome with Nasha and Mickey 17, and ultimately how he dies. Mickey 18's different personality directly connects to his character arc and self-sacrifice.

It isn't just the personalities that set Mickey 18 apart from Mickey 17. Robert Pattinson even adjusts his accent depending on which multiple he's playing. Mickey 17's voice is more high-pitched and modeled after Steve Buscemi in Fargo. But, Pattinson's voice becomes a bit lower whenever he's playing Mickey 18. If their attitudes didn't help differentiate them from each other to audiences and the characters, then listening to Mickey's voice also helps clear up who is who - especially when they don't have their number painted on them in some fashion.

Mickey 17 & Mickey 18's Differences Are Common For Multiples

Nasha Has Experienced Many Variations Of Mickey

The distinction between Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 is more exaggerated than most, but it is not a wholly unique instance. The movie indicates that this is something that is actually a common result in the duplication process. Later on in the movie, narration from Mickey 17 includes him reminiscing about previous comments Nasha made about how the earlier reprints were different. Nasha noticed the differences between each new duplicate, although they were more minor in comparison to the stark contrast between Mickey 17 and Mickey 18.

There are no signs that the slight or dramatic personality differences for each of Mickey 17's multiples is an intentional part of the expendable program. Most people do not value Mickey's life or perspective, so they do not take the time to know him as well as Nasha. For most, they may not even notice that Mickey 1 through Mickey 17 had any differences. It's only through the deep connection that Nasha has to Mickey and the amount of time they spend together that she understands what makes each Mickey unique.

Mickey 17 & Mickey 18's Differences Show A Flaw In The Expendable Program

The Reprinting Process Is Not Perfect

Mickey 18's more vivid differences to Mickey 17 does help highlight a flaw in the Expendable Program. The technology was created by a psychopath killer and banned on Earth after a series of murders. However, Marshall repurposed the technology to help with space exploration. The main purpose of the Expendable Program is to give the Niflheim expedition an unlimited body count to ensure the safety of everyone else. Each Mickey multiple does look identical and the memory backup ensures they each mostly have the same memories. However, getting everything right is not always achievable.

Mickey 17 includes one example of how the reprinting process can go wrong, as one of the Mickey multiples only lives for 10-15 minutes seemingly due to a machine malfunction. This proves that the printer is not perfected in its ability to duplicate every aspect of a human. After meeting Mickey 18, it is plausible that copying someone's personality to a replica is especially difficult. That could explain the minor differences between the earlier versions of Mickey, while Mickey 18's uniqueness shows just how many alterations these dulicates can have.

The Differences Between Mickey 17 & Mickey 18 Make Robert Pattinson's Performance Richer

The Mickey 17 Star Gets Even More To Do

There are story reasons for Mickey 17 and Mickey 18's differences, and while the specific explanation for the variability between them is glossed over in Bong Joon-ho's movie, Robert Pattinson greatly benefits from it. Without the changes made to Mickey 18, Pattinson would have been stuck playing essentially the same exact character twice in the same movie. Playing twins or clones can often lead to great results in sci-fi movies, but the set up for the multiples in Mickey 17 risked creating a limitation where Pattinson couldn't differentiate the roles.

Pattinson is unsurprisingly excellent in both of the roles

By making Mickey 18 a very different character from Mickey 17, Pattinson is given the freedom to craft two entirely separate performances. The different personalities and vocal ranges allow him to create performances that are unique despite the similar appearance of the characters. Pattinson is unsurprisingly excellent in both of the roles, falling easily into the lovable loser and confident hothead archetypes for Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. It helps cement Mickey 17 as one of Robert Pattinson's best movies.

Mickey 17 becomes another great showcase of Pattinson's abilities as an actor thanks to the differences between Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. He's shed the baggage often associated with the Twilight films and spent the years leading up to his Bong Joon-ho partnership repeatedly proving his chameleon-like ability to play a variety of characters. It's a smart move for Mickey 17 to let that aspect of Robert Pattinson shine. If the movie had shown more of the other multiples, his varied performances could have been even more impressive.