Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mickey 17!
Mark Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall is the main villain of Mickey 17, and many viewers have been wondering if the character is inspired by Donald Trump. Based on the book Mickey 7, Mickey 17 takes place in a wacky sci-fi world populated with aliens, space colonies, and human clones known as “expendables.” Despite all of these fictional elements, Mickey 17 has a lot of roots in real-world politics and social issues. The film’s handling of Kenneth Marshall is one of the biggest pieces of the film’s political commentary, with some believing that the Mickey 17 villain was inspired by Donald Trump.
Mickey 17 follows Robert Pattinson’s titular protagonist, with him being an expendable employee who is reprinted as a clone every time he dies. Mickey 17 and his predecessors died as part of the Nilfheim colony, a space expedition headed by Mark Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall. The Nilfheim colony is found on a distant planet far from Earth, with the group consisting of individuals who have left the struggling blue planet. Despite being the head of the Nilfheim colony, Kenneth Marshall is a controversial figure in the world of Mickey 17, drawing parallels to some real-life politicians.
Mickey 17’s Villain Marshall Has Drawn Comparisons To Donald Trump
They Have A Lot Of Similarities
Throughout Mickey 17, Mark Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall has some incredibly specific bits of characterization that has led to some viewers drawing comparisons to Donald Trump. Mark Ruffalo’s performance seems to be inspired by Trump, with many specific mannerisms, such as Marshall’s hand motions and mouth movements, being incredibly similar to those of Donald Trump. Despite his powerful political position, Mickey 17 and many characters in the movie treat Kenneth Marshall as a comedic character, with Trump’s humor being one of the things that draws many to the real-life politician.
Kenneth Marshall’s backstory also draws some parallels with Trump. According to the opening exposition of Mickey 17, Kenneth Marshall was a controversial politician who left Earth to start the Nilfheim after losing reelection. This is clearly not far off from the story of Donald Trump, who was president in 2016 before losing reelection during the 2020 election. Since Mickey 7 and Mickey 17 were both made in the early 2020s, this would have been the natural way to have a fictional character parallel Trump’s life before his 2024 reelection.
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Another major comparison between Kenneth Marshall and Donald Trump comes later in the film. In one scene, Mickey 18 attempts to assassinate Marshall, with him bringing a gun to a political rally. Mickey 18 shoots at Marshall, although he barely misses, with the bullet scratching the side of Marshall’s face. This seems to be a parallel to the real-life attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, 2024. On this day, a sniper shot at Donald Trump during one of his rallies, with it barely missing him and scraping his ear.
Bong Joon Ho Says Mickey 17’s Villain Wasn’t Inspired By Donald Trump
He Has A Different Explanation
Despite all of the aforementioned parallels, Mickey 17 director Bong Joon-ho says that Kenneth Marshall was not inspired by Donald Trump. Instead, Marshall was inspired by “a mix of many different politicians” and “dictators that we have seen throughout history” (via Entertainment Weekly). According to Bong Joon-ho, viewers in different countries would project their own politicians onto Marshall. This is a potential explanation for why Americans are projecting Donald Trump onto the Mark Ruffalo character.
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Filming for Mickey 17 was finished in January 2023, meaning that some of these parallels couldn’t have been intentional when the film was written. Since the assassination attempt didn’t happen until 2024, Mickey 17‘s writer obviously wasn’t making a reference to it during the film’s assassination attempt. Mickey 17‘s rebirth dream sequence also couldn’t have been a reference to Trump winning the 2024 election, as the film was finished before Trump became president again.
Thanks To When It Was Written
Although Bong Joon-ho may not have been thinking about Donald Trump when making Mickey 17, the film could still act as a commentary on Donald Trump’s presidency. The original book wasn’t published until 2022, meaning that Mickey 7 author Edward Ashton very well could have been using Marshall as a Trump allegory. The film’s political themes could have also been referencing real-world political issues that were present under Trump’s first presidency. Mickey 17 may not have intentionally been parodying Trump, but this reading of the film is still valid.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Mickey 17
8/10
- Release Date
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March 25, 2025