It’s been twelve years since the release of District 9, the science-fiction movie that turned South African apartheid into a separation between humans and aliens. Long-time rumors of a sequel from director Neill Blomkamp have circulated, and he confirmed back in February that a second film was officially in the works. Now, in an interview with IGN, Blomkamp has revealed that District 10 will be based on something from American history.
“That script continues to be written. It’s looking good. It took a decade to figure out, to come up with a reason why to make that film as opposed to just make a sequel,” Blomkamp said.
“There was a topic in American history that the second I realized that that fit into the world of District 9, it felt like an awesome way to do a sequel. So yeah, it continues to be developed and it’s getting a lot closer.
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The script comes from Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, who were nominated for an Oscar for their screenplay for the first film, and star Sharlto Copley, who played Wikus van de Merwe. The feature-length District 9, which was released on August 14th, 2009, was based on Blomkamp’s earlier five-minute short, Alive in Joburg.
The Johannesburg-born Blomkamp followed up his feature directorial debut with two more sci-fi films, Elysium in 2013 and Chappie in 2015. He has since helmed a number of shorts but returns with his next feature, Demonic, on August 20th. We reported back in March that the horror film will be distributed in the United States by IFC Midnight. Blomkamp was also recently hired as the Chief Visionary Officer for Gunzilla Games.