Although it’s been over a decade since the last film, the district 9 Sequel got an optimistic update from star Sharlto Copley. Copley starred in the original film as Wikus van de Merwe, a mild-mannered diplomat who works for the Multinational United’s Department of Alien Affairs, which was formed after an alien ship arrived in an alternative country over South Africa’s Johannesburg in 1982, which was subsequently dedicated a cordoned off camp built for the malnourished aliens known as shrimp. Merwe is sent to the titular district to take the aliens to a camp outside of town, only to accidentally become infected with an alien liquid and slowly transform into a shrimp.
Alongside Copley, who made his feature film debut in the film, was the cast for district 9 including Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Louis Minaar, Eugene Khumbanyiwa and Kenneth Nkosi. Written by Terri Tatchell and directed by Neill Blomkamp based on his short film Alive in Joburg, the sci-fi thriller, received critical acclaim for its themes, story, visual effects and the performances of its cast, Copley, and went on to receive four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Because the film was also a box office hit, grossing over $210 million while the production budget surpassed $30 million, it is called a district 9 Sequels have been swirling around for years and now one that comes close to the original film has a hopeful update of its potential.
When speaking to Comicbook.com to discuss the survival thriller animaloffered Sharlto Copley an optimistic update on district 9 Consequence. The star confirmed that he and writer/director Neill Blomkamp are still discussing a possible follow-up and teased when they might start moving forward. See what Copley shared below:
We do it [still talk about it]. I mean we came so close to doing it. So hopefully, after his next film, maybe we’ll do it then.
As Copley notes above, efforts to a district 9 Sequels have circulated in the 13 years since the first film came out, with Blomkamp frequently acknowledging his hopes of producing a sequel, although he often stated that it was difficult to reduce his ideas to a film. The star’s mention that the two came”so close‘, it seems to point to a year after the original film came out, as Copley pointed out that a district 9 sequel was very likely, but that his and Blomkamp’s schedule would prevent a few years from making it. The original film propelled both into the mainstream limelight thanks to its critical and commercial success, with Blomkamp set to helm both Elysium and Chappiethe former being a box-office hit while the latter having only modest success, and Copley would appear in everything from Hollywood tentpoles like The A Team to indie tariff, e.g hardcore henry.
While Copley’s recent comments may not provide direct confirmation of his development, his optimistic update on a district 9 Sequel is broadly consistent with recent news about the follow-up. Blomkamp confirmed in early 2021 that he and Tatchell would be reuniting to write the screenplay for the titled film district 10with Copley also writing the sequel, which, given the lackluster response to both, met with a largely divided audience response Chappie and last year’s Demonic. While audiences await more details on the sequel, they can rewatch the original district 9 stream now on Freevee.
Source: ComicBook.com