When District 9 came out in 2009, nobody could have predicted that a South African Sci-fi action film with a $30 million budget would rack up over $200 million at the global box office and bag four academy award nominations. Directed by South African Canadian filmmaker and animator Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, District 9 was a socio-political sci-fi action film exploring the themes of xenophobia, humanity, and social segregation. With Peter Jackson producing and Weta Digital handling the VFX, Neill Blomkamp made an all-time classic.
District 9 ended on a rather ambiguous note, and fans have been demanding a sequel for over a decade now. Blomkamp became one of the most sought-after directors after the release of the film and decided to move forward with other original projects instead of a follow-up to District 9. But now he has his sights set on the sequel titled District 10. Earlier this year, Blomkamp confirmed that he has begun working on the script with Sharlto Copley and partner Terri Tatchell. While talking to The Hollywood Reporter about this upcoming sci-fi horror offering Demonic, Blomkamp revealed his vision for District 10.
"I think the approach of the first film is correct; it's just really a question of the script. If there's slightly more stuff happening in the script, then you need slightly more money. But I think it would still be as stripped-down and bare bones as we could make it. That becomes more nimble and more creative, and personally, I like that."
Neill Blomkamp said this when asked about the scale and scope of the film. But it looks like Blomkamp has no plans to make a CGI and action-heavy film. Instead, he wants to make a film akin to the 2009 original, with a similar budget and socio-political themes. He has also teased that District 10 will be based on a topic from American history. What topic? It remains to be seen.
District 9 offered sharp commentary on South Africa's apartheid system while delivering sci-fi thrills and never seen before visual effects. In District 9, a giant space ship carrying impoverished insect-like aliens arrives on Earth in Johannesburg, South Africa. The aliens, called a derogatory term "Prawn" in the film, are confined to an internment camp called District 9, but all hell breaks loose when a bureaucrat, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), gets infected by alien DNA and himself starts mutating into an alien. Blomkamp is looking to recreate the magic of the original with District 10. Hopefully, he knocks it out of the park.
After the release of District 9, Blomkamp spent a significant amount of time developing a Halo live-action movie and a Robocop legacy sequel but ultimately departed due to creative differences with the studios. He was also involved in the making of Alien 5 for a long time and even shared concept art from the film. With Sigourney Weaver endorsing his vision for Alien 5, things were looking hopeful at one point. But, Fox pulled the plug on Blomkamp's film in favor of Ridley Scott's underwhelming Alien: Covenant.
The filmmaker is now moved on from franchise films and will focus on original films only. He is currently busy promoting his upcoming horror film Demonic. Blomkamp's first film in six years, Demonic, will release on August 20, 2021, in theaters and on VOD a week later on August 27. This news comes to us from Comicbook.