Meet Mikki, the robot caretaker who links the worlds of ARCO and System Preference

A character from Natalie Portman’s upcoming animated film ARCO will make their debut first in a dark, dystopian graphic novel from Titan Comics.

The creator, Ugo Bienvenu, is linking his two new projects with the shared character of Mikki, a robot caretaker. This shared universe will see Mikki appear in the family-friendly film ARCO and the much darker social commentary graphic novel, System Preference.

ARCO, the animated feature film written and directed by Bienvenu, is slated for release on November 14, 2025. Natalie Portman produces it and features a star-studded voice cast including Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Mark Ruffalo, Flea, and Andy Samberg. The film is described as a hopeful and optimistic odyssey about a 10-year-old boy named Arco who accidentally travels from a peaceful future back to a world in peril in 2075. Teaming up with a young girl, Iris, and her robot caretaker, Mikki, they embark on a quest to get Arco home and save the planet.

In contrast, System Preference offers a bleak, Black Mirror-esque vision of the future. The graphic novel is set in a society where data storage is so limited that historical art is deleted to make way for holiday photos. An archivist, horrified by this cultural destruction, steals and hides important artefacts inside the robot surrogate carrying his unborn daughter. When his actions are discovered, the family is forced to go on the run.

The connecting thread is Mikki, the trusted robot caretaker who features in both tales, providing a subtle nod that links the stories across different media.

Titan Comics will publish the 176-page hardcover graphic novel System Preference on September 23, 2025. Geek Native has been given some preview pages to share, offering a first look at Ugo Bienvenu’s distinctive art style, which blends contemporary visuals with a 1940s and ’50s comic book aesthetic.