‘District 9’ mastermind Neill Blomkamp is set to revitalize the sci-fi franchise.
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp has been tapped to direct a new Alien movie, which will be produced by Ridley Scott and see release via 20th Century Fox, Variety reports.
According to early reports, Blomkamp’s new Alien film was supposed to star franchise veteran Sigourney Weaver, though it’s unclear if she’s still attached. Little else is known about the film, except that it will take place years after the sequel to Prometheus — the 2012 sort-of prequel to the Alien franchise — which Scott is currently working on.
Blomkamp is a fitting choice to help revitalize the Alien franchise: The director has become known for mixing his sci-fi bona fides with sharp social commentary, as seen in the apartheid tensions of District 9 (2009) and the drastic social and class inequalities that drive Elysium (2013). Blomkamp’s upcoming film, Chappie, tells the story of a police-force robot reprogrammed to understand human emotion and behavior; it stars Weaver, Hugh Jackman, and Yo-Landi Visser and Ninja of Cape Town rap-rave duo Die Antwoord, and will be released on March 6th.
