Over the last few months, we told you that Sharlto Copley (Men in Black III) and Matt Damon (True Grit, The Adjustment Bureau) and Jodie Foster (Contact, God of Carnage, The Beaver) had joined the cast of District 9 director, Neill Blomkamp‘s forthcoming sci-fi film, Elysium.

Now, Deadline reports that Blomkamp has met with various studios about the film, and Sony Pictures has won the bidding war to distribute Elysium. They are told that Elysium has the social allegory present in the Sony Pictures Entertainment-directed District 9, but it’s an unabashedly big movie, set 100 years in the future, with all of the obligatory gadgets and technological advances.

Production designer Syd Mead (Blade Runner, Aliens) will design the sets for the forthcoming, R-rated sci-fi film, that will reportedly have a $120 million budget (Blomkamp only spent $30 million on District 9). The film will begin prep in April, and start production in Vancouver this July, before moving to Mexico City in the fall.

The actor’s roles in the film are still being kept under wraps, and the film itself remains a mystery. When previously asked about the project, Blomkamp has only said –

“…I’ve got one science fiction idea that I’m absolutely in love with, which I’m pretty sure is going to be my next film. 99% sure…It’s totally original, it’s my own story…It’s set on another planet, but it’s cool. It’s violent, very violent, and very unique hopefully. We’ll see… It is science fiction and it has many sociopolitical ideas that interest me. Those ideas are wrapped up inside something that is like a Hollywood actionfilm…The setting for the next film takes place 150 years from now. There are two cities that I’m choosing between. They would play as themselves. They are not in South Africa.”

Elysium, starring Sharlto Copley, Matt Damon and Jodie Foster is slated to hit theaters in 2012.