Well no, of course not. However, rather than direct the sequel we were all expecting, it seems Neill Blomkamp has an altogether different idea. This week the LA Times has been running a series of installments from an interview they held with Blomkamp about his first movie, District 9, his next movie, and other projects in the future. District 9 has been picking up nominations from all over and is one of the hottest things in cinema, so naturally, the LA Times wanted to catch up with him and find out what was next.
So what is next for Neill? His next project is also going to be a Sci-fi film, set 150 years in the future and played out across 2 cities. Details are of course thin, but whatever it is, I’m sure we all be looking forward too it. And what about District 9? Well it seems that Blomkamp has thought about the sequel, but thinks the journey the characters took up to the point where we are introduced to them is more interesting than than the events that could take place after D-9 ends.
Neill had this to say about the next film in the D-9 saga:
A sequel might be interesting. I know what I’m doing next so it wouldn’t be right away. But the concept of aliens in Johannesburg is such an appealing idea to me and the issues of race and how they meet. All of the things that I had going on with it. I wouldn’t mind messing around with it again. I’m open to it if the story works and there’s a reason to do it. And [Copley’s character] Wikus is so funny to me, I’m very interested in a sort of passive racist like that. If you go forward [with his story beyond “District 9”] it’s more of a traditional film but if you go backward I’d be intrigued in that. I’m not so interested in aliens coming back and blowing things up but [a prequel] might be interesting.
Sounds like a good idea when you read it on paper, but it will be interesting to see how it turns out. He’s also asked about a TV show: (“A television show I wouldn’t really want to do. That would be…well, I just don’t want to do that”) as well as a video game (“The idea of ‘District 9’ as a video game stresses me out a little bit because games based on movies rarely work. And movies based on games don’t work — I don’t know what’s up with”).
So it seems that the fame and recognition that Neill has gained since the release of his directorial debut hasn’t affected his grip on reality. It’s very apparent that he has a love for story-telling and wants to focus on film-making over money-making. I knew there was a reason we all liked him! The 3 part LA Times article can be found here, here and here.
So, the concepts are out there from the man himself, but what do you think? Do you want to see the thinking man’s prequel or do you want the all out action prawn revenge sequel? Leave your comments below.