What Happened to Neill Blomkamp’s ‘District 10’? (original) (raw)
Updated Dec 1, 2023, 5:00 PM EST
Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.
Summary
- District 9 was a groundbreaking sci-fi hit with an original premise that explored themes of prejudice and apartheid in South Africa.
- Director Neill Blomkamp's success with District 9 led to other projects, but his follow-up films, Elysium and Chappie, didn't have the same impact.
- Now, there's hope for a District 9 sequel, with star Sharlto Copley hinting at discussions with Blomkamp about making it happen after their next film.
In an era where Hollywood seems obsessed with rebooting or remaking every intellectual property under the sun, it's rare for an original idea to take root. But every so often, an original movie bursts out onto the scene. And in 2009, one of the biggest original sci-fi hits of the decade debuted with District 9. District 9 expanded upon the short film Alive In Joburg by Neill Blomkamp, who co-wrote and directed both projects. It became renowned for its unique take on the "first contact" concept - when aliens land in South Africa, they're relocated to the titular District 9 where they suffer prejudice from humanity. Like any good science fiction story, the alien visitors served as a chillingly poignant metaphor for South Africa's history with apartheid.
District 9
Release Date
August 5, 2009
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Cast
Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, Elizabeth Mkandawie, John Sumner, William Allen Young, Nick Blake, Greg Melvill-Smith, Robert Hobbs, Vanessa Haywood, Morena Busa Sesatsa, Themba Nkosi, Mzwandile Nqoba, Barry Strydom, Jed Brophy, Louis Minnaar, Marian Hooman, Vittorio Leonardi, David Clatworthy, Michael Huff, David James, Tim Gordon, Anthony Bishop, Anthony Fridjhon
Director
District 9 was a major hit thanks to a viral marketing campaign that kicked off at 2008's San Diego Comic-Con, as well as its inventive premise. It even managed to score a few Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. So one would think that a sequel would be fast-tracked as soon as possible. However, said sequel has never manifested. The reasons range from Blomkamp becoming a rising star in Hollywood, as well as his follow-up efforts.
Blomkamp's Busy Schedule And Canceled Projects
The success of District 9 led to an uptick in productivity from Blomkamp. He directed two more sci-fi thrillers with Elysium in 2013 and Chappie in 2015. Over the years, he's also been attached to different reboots of science fiction projects. First, there was a potential Alien film that would have brought back Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. However, that film was confirmed to be scrapped by Alien creator Ridley Scott - and Blomkamp felt that Chappie may have had something to do with it. “It’s possible that Ridley watched Chappie and he was like, this guy can’t do Alien so let’s just go ahead and move on,” he said in an interview.
Blomkamp also struck out with a potential RoboCop sequel, titled RoboCop Returns. All the pieces were in place for a success story: original screenwriters Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner had written a script that picked up immediately after the first RoboCop and would also produce. But in 2019, Blomkamp announced that he departed the project; Abe Forsythe is currently slated to write and direct.
Ironically, it's departing a major adaptation that led to the genesis of District 9. Blomkamp was originally tapped by Peter Jackson - yes, Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson - to direct an adaption of Halo that Jackson was producing for 20th Century Fox. One would think that a film adaption of a beloved video game series produced by the director behind one of the greatest fantasy film series of all time would go off without a hitch. Yet Blomkamp has gone on the record saying that working with Fox deteriorated to the point where he chose to make District 9. The rest, as they say, is history.
Blomkamp's Follow-Ups Lack The Spark 'District 9' Has
A robot holding up toy letter blocks that spell his name in the film Chappie
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Even if Blomkamp hasn't been able to stay attached to a major IP, he's carved out a name for himself with his original sci-fi tales. However, Elysium and Chappie didn't exactly light the world on fire. While the former received fairly moderate reviews and even turned a profit, the latter was critically panned and flopped at the box office. A large part of it had to do with the premises; Elysium's themes of inequality in a ruined earth and Chappie's "child-like AI" had been done before and lacked the dramatic heft of District 9's premise.
Despite Chappie being the more poorly received of the two films, it was Elysium that Blomkamp had regrets about. "I feel like I fucked it up, I feel like ultimately the story is not the right story... I still think the satirical idea of a ring, filled with rich people, hovering above the impoverished Earth, is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn't... I just didn't make a good enough film is ultimately what it is," he said during an interview promoting Chappie. Blomkamp's 2021 film, Demonic, would fare an even worse fate than Chappie. It gained less attention for its premise - which attempted to blend sci-fi and horror together - and more for the fact that it was shot in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neill Blomkamp's Comeback
David Harbour in Gran Turismo
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing.
Things seem to be looking up for Blomkamp. His latest film, Gran Turismo, was an adaptation of the popular video game, once again reuniting him with Sony, who distributed District 9. But it also looks as though District 10 might at long last come to fruition. Star Sharlto Copley recently offered an update on the sequel, saying that he's held discussions with Blomkamp about it. "I mean, we came so close to doing it. So hopefully, after his next movie, maybe we'll do it then," Copley said in an interview last year. This holds a fair bit of weight, given that Copley has collaborated with Blomkamp on nearly every film he's worked on. Should Gran Turismo prove to be a success, it's entirely possible that audiences might make a return to District 10.
District 9 is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.