In a recent interview with Fandango’s Erik Davis, actor Sharlto Copley (who can currently be seen in Baltasar Kormákur’s Beast, aka “The One Where Idris Elba Punches a Lion”) claims that a sequel to 2009’s District 9 might finally be headed our way:
NEW: When I sat down w/ Sharlto Copley to talk about #BeastMovie, I also asked about the status of that DISTRICT 9 sequel. He said it was super close to happening, but is now on pause till after director Neill Blomkamp finishes his next projectpic.twitter.com/Gb8LahoM5o
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) August 17, 2022
This is, of course, not the first time we’ve heard that Blomkamp and company were gearing up for a District 9 follow-up. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel to that crowd-pleasing genre mashup for over a decade now (the original ends on a cliffhanger! Of course there’s been clamoring!), and on more than one occasion rumor has suggested that the project was on its way to the big screen. And yet, no sequel has been forthcoming.
For anyone who’s forgotten, Blomkamp’s District 9 revolved around an extraterrestrial ship parking itself above Johannesburg, South Africa and unloading a number of its occupants (large, insectile creatures known as “Prawns”) on the city below. Copley plays a government stooge who begins transforming into a Prawn after a bit of alien tech inadvertently blows up in his face. What follows is a found footage/sci-fi/body horror romp with apartheid, racism and xenophobia on its mind. It’s great!
Might Blomkamp finally be getting around to a District 10? Sure, anything’s possible. But Copley sounds fairly convincing here, and lord knows this sequel is long overdue. We’d love to see where such a follow-up might take us, and to see the story continue with VFX that have only grown more convincing since the original was made. Guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens, but here’s hoping Copley’s not playing games with our heart in the interview above.
