In 2009, co-writer/director Neill Blomkamp blew the world away with the vision he shared in his sci-fi blockbuster District 9. While a prequel was quickly teased after that film’s release, the sequel path leading to District 10 has remained a spectre of what could have been, waiting in the wings to become a reality. Well there’s finally great news for you District 9 fans, as it looks like that sequel is taking some crucial steps forward, as announced by the man himself.
A Twitter post from Neill Blomkamp’s personal account revealed that District 10 has not slipped his mind, nor has it escaped the gaze of District 9 co-writer Terri Tatchell. Blomkamp disclosed this fact when he announced that District 10 is finally happening, and with another key collaborator on board. Take a look at the good news for yourself, below:
A District 10 without actor Sharlto Copley would be something akin to sacrilege, so knowing he’s involved in the screenwriting process for his star-making turn as Wikus van de Merwe. It’s also a way for Copley to be involved, even if he isn’t physically, or vocally, present in District 10. When we last left Wikus, he was fully transformed into a prawn - the alien species that District 9 introduced. While all of this speculation is pleasant to think of, even 12 years after we first saw this mind blowing indie make the scene, there’s some recent history that has us nervous nonetheless.
On one hand, Neill Blomkamp has flourished with his series of short films through Oats Studios. So while District 10 hasn’t been front and center, Blomkamp has flexed his sci-fi muscles through some interesting, and extreme, content. Plus he still attracts top tier talent, like Sigourney Weaver and Dakota Fanning, when it comes to the production of such endeavors. Unfortunately when it comes to feature filmmaking, especially hotly anticipated sequels, Neill Blomkamp hasn’t been as lucky.
Both Robocop Returns and Alien 5 were considered by Neill Blomkamp, and they were meant to be humongous legacyquels that would have wiped out the checkered past of those respective franchises. But as we’ve seen in the recent past, those prospects eventually fell to the wayside. So while District 10 is being announced, it’s still in a position that’s far enough from production that we’re not going to hold our breath for its arrival.
One factor that District 10 has going for it is the fact that Neill Blomkamp is even talking about it happening in the first place. There was a time on this long and winding road that it sounded like he gave up on the idea, as he’d felt that the unofficial trilogy of District 9, Elysium, and Chappie had said all he needed to about the South African socio-political experience. But here we are, closer to finding out if Christopher will ever make good on his promise to “heal” the transformed Wikus, or if humanity has scared him off for good. We’re hopeful to see it all come to pass, but as always, we’ll just have to wait and see what fate has in store; hoping that this doesn’t lead to another Halo scenario.
