Neill Blomkamp, director of the epic Sci-Fi film District 9 has admitted that he would consider making a prequel to District 9. Discussing his science fiction movie with the Los Angeles Times, Blomkamp ruled out bringing his South Africa-set alien saga to the small screen and stated his preference to take the story back in time.
Blomkamp said,
“A TV show I wouldn’t really want to do… But a sequel might be interesting, I know what I’m doing next so it wouldn’t be right away. But the concept of aliens in Johannesburg is such an appealing idea to me and the issues of race and how they meet. All of the things that I had going on with it. I wouldn’t mind messing around with it again.
“I’m open to it if the story works and there’s a reason to do it. And [Sharlto Copley’s character] Wikus is so funny to me, I’m very interested in a sort of passive racist like that. If you go forward it’s more of a traditional film but if you go backward I’d be intrigued in that. I’m not so interested in aliens coming back and blowing things up but [a prequel] might be interesting.”
In the same interview, the director spoke about the plausibility of a District 9 video game. While no District 9 video game is currently in development, Blomkamp is not opposed to the idea.
Blomkamp said,
“District 9 as a game would be fascinating, and I don’t want to see it happen for any sort of corporate reason or profit thing. I used to be involved in computer graphics and I love virtual environments. That’s why I like video games, really. And I think a virtual environment of the slums of Soweto is an appealing idea to me. The weapons are cool, too. I photographed the film in a way that isn’t that different than video-game perspective in some parts. So a game would be interesting to me. There’s nothing happening with it though.”
Because he won’t be jumping directly into District 10, or perhaps District 8 1/2? Blomkamp had this to say about his next project:
“I’m trying to keep it to myself at this point. But 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 action film…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.”
Although the project will likely have a bigger budget than District 9, it will cost considerably less than the average big summer movie. The key, Blomkamp said, is pre-planning and the willingness to do more with less.
“If you go into it knowing what you want to accomplish, you can save money, If you go into it trying to figure out what you want, it’s going to cost a lot of money. The other aspect is trimming it down. It’s like a diet. Instead of 2,000 effects shots, you can probably do with 1,000. Those kinds of sacrifices are worth it if you get to make something that is not in any way generic.”
