Back in 2009, director Neill Blomkamp exploded on to the Hollywood scene thanks to District 9 - one of the best science-fiction films in recent memory, and a film as action packed as it was smart. Since then, the filmmaker has gone on to make two more features, but still fans have continually wondered if there would be any chance of seeing a District 10. As it turns out, Blomkamp does have an idea for a sequel, but it's not something we can expect to see on the big screen anytime in the near future. This is basically because he wants to move away from that kind of stylistic storytelling for a spell.
It was while speaking with IGN that Neill Blomkamp provided the most recent update on District 10, revealing that the reason why he's not making the movie yet is because he has just completed a "trilogy" of similarly styled films and wants the opportunity to break out from that going forward. He notes that District 9, Elysium and Chappie don't all have the most obvious links between them, but he still sees them all as connected. Said the director,
The problem is I feel like Chappie is the end of three films that have a similar stylistic approach to them. Chappie is the odd one out in that is has no socio-political underpinnings. It doesn’t have my experiences as a kid in South Africa incorporated into it. And Elysium – although it doesn’t have my experiences as a kid in South Africa, it has the same notion of oppressor in the elites, and the large population base beneath it. And Chappie doesn’t, but they are still part of a trilogy.
Blomkamp certainly does have some big plans to break out of that style, and he will be doing so by adapting the aesthetic of an already established and legendary franchise. As we learned a couple weeks ago, the South African filmmaker's next project will be a new installment in the Alien series - temporarily referred to as Alien 5. The feature will be bringing back Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, and reports have said that the story will deliver the character the ending she deserves. We can surely expect that Blomkamp will be incorporating some of the classic HR Giger designs into his movie, which should certainly help him change things up from his first three movies.
But while District 10 sounds like it is still a while off, Blomkamp does ensure fans that he has an idea for the sequel, and that it's something that he will want to make at some point in the future. He told the website,
Moving forward, I would love to realize this idea of District 10 – I have every intention to do it, I just need to find the right time to do it – to not go back to Johannesburg and shoot something similar, yet.”
Neill Blomkamp's Chappie arrives in theaters this weekend.
