Neill Blomkamp Insists The District 9 Sequel Is Still On Its Way
Thirteen years later, it seems a certain hit 2009 sci-fi action film is finally on the verge of getting a sequel. No, I'm not talking about "Avatar," although "Avatar: The Way of Water" is, in fact, maybe for real going to come out in 2022. I'm actually referring to "District 9," director Neill Blomkamp's feature-length expansion of his short movie, "Alive in Joburg."
Part faux-documentary, "District 9" takes place in an alternate reality where aliens landed in South Africa in the 1980s, only to be confined to an internment camped dubbed "District 9." A gnarly mix of splatter gore, body horror, and dark satire, the film seemed to signal Blomkamp's arrival as a successor to Paul Verhoeven and the movie's own producer, Peter Jackson (who similarly got his start making the gory 1987 sci-fi comedy "Bad Taste").
As we now know, though, Blomkamp's career didn't pan out as expected. His next two films, the sci-fi movies "Elysium" and "Chappie," were both modest financial hits that earned a far cooler critical reception than "District 9." Then, after flirting with directing both an "Alien" film and a "RoboCop" sequel, Blomkamp returned with 2021's "Demonic," a possession horror-thriller that critics by and large agree is pretty terrible.
However, prior to releasing "Demonic" and joining Gunzilla Games as its Chief Visionary Officer in July 2021, Blomkamp announced that development was formally underway on a "District 9" sequel. When Dexerto asked him for an update, the filmmaker confirmed:
"I am still working on it... the answer is it's within the near future."
A weirder, wilder District 9 sequel?
Where some directors seem to chill a little with age, Neill Blomkamp has so far gone the opposite route. His movies have only gotten weirder and wilder over the years, to the degree that "District 9" almost (emphasis on almost) starts to feel subdued with its in-your-face post-apartheid allegory and overall chaotic vibe. And that's without touching on the experimental shorts he's produced with his company, Oats Studios.
Blomkamp is now penning the "District 9" sequel with his writing partner Terri Tatchell (whom he's also married to) and "District 9" star Sharlto Copley, the latter of whom has likewise kept it strange over the years with his roles in movies like "Hardcore Henry" and, most recently, season 2 of "Russian Doll." Plot-wise, details on the sequel are firmly under-wraps, although Blomkamp has said it will turn its attention to "a topic in American history."
For as much as I admire Blomkamp for sticking to his guns and making esoteric, deliberately inaccessible genre movies rather than becoming a studio workhorse, I also wish he would focus on, well, improving as a filmmaker. He's terrific at coming up with creative premises but still struggles at turning them into coherent narrative with engaging characters. It's why I'm both intrigued yet concerned about him tackling a "District 9" sequel at this stage in his career.
/Film will bring you more information on the "District 9" sequel as it becomes available.