The long-awaited District 9 sequel from Neill Blomkamp could still be in the distant future, according to a new update.
The original 2009 sci-if epic explored the idea of an extraterrestrial alien species looking to take refuge from their dying planet on Earth. Instead of being welcomed, the new guests are forced into a slum-like camp away from humans while their technology is researched.
When the movie first debuted, fans and critics loved it. Surprisingly, it took another 12 years for a sequel to be confirmed—though word on its progress has been slim.
In the years after District 9, Blomkamp would instead go on to do Elysium and Chappie, both of which were also big science fiction movies. Sadly, neither landed the same way with audiences.
A Discouraging Update on District 10
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp commented on where District 10, the film's long-awaited sequel, is in the development process.
When asked if Sony Pictures would still be tied to the potential film, Blomkamp noted that "they would be" but he "[doesn't] know if it's getting made or not:"
"Yeah, they would be tied to it. I don’t know if it’s getting made or not. I don’t know if I even want to make that right now, but at some point down the line, it’ll probably get made."
When the interviewer pointed out how the strong positive reactions to the filmmaker's latest film, Gran Turismo, might bode well for District 10 finally getting made, the director simply replied, "Yeah, that makes sense."
When District 9 was first released in 2009, Blomkamp teased that a sequel could already be underway. Needless to say, things didn't pan out.
It wasn't until February 2021 that a meaningful update about the project was released. A report from Variety confirmed a screenplay for District 10 was in development between Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley, and Terri Tatchell.
A little later in the same year, the director shared how the "script continues to be written" and that "it took a decade to figure out" the approach they wanted to take.
In 2022, District 9 star Sharlto Copley revealed he and Blomkamp still talk about District 10 and that "hopefully, after [Blomkamp's] next movie" (which was Gran Turismo at the time of the quote), the duo could get around to making the sequel a reality.
This latest update doesn't bode too well for the movie actually happening any time soon. At the very least, the silver lining seems to be that the director seems confident the project will happen... eventually.
Neill Blomkamp's Poor Luck With Sequels
Neill Blomkamp certainly doesn't have the best track record when it comes to following through with big-name projects.
The director was originally set to make a Robocop Sequel, a Halo film, and a new Alien movie before all of them fell apart
His former Alien project seems to be a particularly sore subject for the filmmaker, as he recently shut down an interviewer for attempting to ask about it. A year earlier, Blomkamp seemed to be under the impression that his Chappie film was the reason the Sigourney Weaver movie didn’t happen.
In that same interview, he declared that he “[doesn’t] want to do IP work based on other people’s stuff ever again.”
Perhaps his poor luck can be improved if he can actually get District 10 off the ground. Fans have wanted it ever since the first movie was released—plus, it’s his original creation.
With the cliffhanger that District 9 gifted audiences, with Sharlto Copley’s Wilkus still waiting for a cure, it’s about time for the world to get some resolution.
After all, his work on Gran Turismo seemed to have turned out reasonably well. Maybe it's the success the director needed to get the gears turning for District 10.
