Ridley Scott’s original Alien film set the benchmark for sci-fi storytelling. Its claustrophobic setting and practical ‘alien’ creatures led to some terrifying scenes, elevated by the performances of its lead cast. The success of the film spawned the Alien franchise and the latest installment Alien: Romulus is running successfully in theaters.
Many filmmakers have been inspired by Scott’s Alien films and have tried to put their own spin on the human vs alien narrative. One of the most inventive entries in the 2000s was Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 which is already deemed an iconic film. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel and Blomkamp himself is hopeful that a potential District 10 will most likely get made down the line.
District 9‘s Neill Blomkamp Is Optimistic For A Potential Sequel to The Beloved Sci-Fi Film
Hollywood has been obsessed with extraterrestrial life and their dynamic with humans ever since Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien. Many films have been made since where the dynamic is either antagonistic or friendly (the two cooperating for a better future). Neill Blomkamp‘s District 9 explores how humans deal with living with aliens on the same planet.
The film led by Sharlto Copley puts Johannesburg as the location where aliens on Earth are relocated. Following a misunderstood issue, he becomes the target of a manhunt that threatens his existence. District 9 was loved by audiences for its thought-provoking commentary on segregation and xenophobia (between humans and aliens).
A sequel to the film, titled District 10 was in development with a script written by Copley and Terri Tatchell co-writing the screenplay. However, the project never got to the production stage. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the director revealed that while he does not know the timeline of the sequel’s production, he hopes that it will probably get made sometime in the future. Blomkamp said,
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.
District 9 was a huge critical and commercial success when it was released in 2009, grossing $210 million against a $30 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). It was also nominated for four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. The ending of the film opened up a ton of narrative possibilities and audiences deserve a worthy sequel.
Neill Blomkamp Almost Directed An Alternate Aliens Sequel
Alien 3 has been much derided by fans, even by its director David Fincher who has disowned the film. Leaving the mess of that film, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp had come up with an interesting concept for a sequel to James Cameron’s Aliens that would have been a worthy follow-up unlike Fincher’s Alien 3. A new Alien film with Blomkamp was announced in 2015, which eventually got canceled.
In an interview with The Guardian, Blomkamp revealed that Ridley Scott might have watched his 2015 film Chappie and deemed him unfit to direct an Alien film (despite being intrigued by his pitch. The film would have also brought back Sigourney Weaver who was also thrilled by what Blomkamp was bringing to the franchise. The director said,
It’s possible that Ridley watched Chappie and he was like, this guy can’t do Alien so let’s just go ahead and move on. I also felt bad for Sigourney because she was really into what I had brought forward. I felt like [for] audiences who loved Aliens, there was an opportunity to do one more film with Sigourney in a way that may have satiated what people were looking for and what I think I was looking for.
It would have been great if the project had materialized as audiences would have gotten to see what Blomkamp had in mind for the film. Being an auteur filmmaker, he surely would have brought some interesting ideas that brought a new spin to the franchise. Nevertheless, Fede Álvarez has now brought Alien: Romulus and it is doing very well in theatres currently.
District 9 is available to rent/stream on Apple TV+ as of August 18, 2024.
