“District 9” director Neill Blomkamp enlists for brand new “Starship Troopers” film

Neill Blomkamp is doing his half.

The District 9 filmmaker is engaged on a brand new Starship Troopers film for Sony's Columbia Footage division, Leisure Weekly has confirmed. The movie shall be a brand new adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel fairly than a direct remake of Paul Verhoeven's 1997 film, which adopted a gaggle of younger recruits who go to struggle towards alien "bugs."

Along with directing, Blomkamp is writing the screenplay and can produce alongside Terri Tatchell, his spouse and frequent collaborator. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the information.

Blomkamp's earlier movies like District 9 and Elysium featured sturdy sociopolitical commentary channeled by means of a sci-fi lens, which makes the filmmaker an intriguing successor to Verhoeven, who put a satirical spin on Heinlein's materials.

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Nevertheless, it stays unclear precisely what Blomkamp's angle on Starship Troopers shall be, as a result of if he's not remaking or rebooting Verhoeven's work, and as a substitute returning to Heinlein's authentic novel, which means the mission would possibly lack the ironic detachment of the 1997 film. Heinlein's guide has been the topic of some controversy, as its ardent militarism and unsympathetic rendering of alien antagonists have been extensively described as fascist.

Verhoeven himself took main situation with Heinlein's viewpoint, and sought to make his adaptation a satire of the unique guide. "It’s actually fairly a nasty guide," the Dutch filmmaker told Empire in 2020. "It's a really right-wing guide. And with the film we tried, and I believe not less than partially succeeded, in commenting on that on the identical time. It could be eat your cake and have it. Throughout we have been combating with the fascism, the ultra-militarism. Throughout I needed the viewers to be asking, 'Are these individuals loopy?'"

Verhoeven's movie didn't strongly join with audiences upon its preliminary launch, making $121 million on the world field workplace on a finances that exceeded $100 million. Nevertheless, the film has gained a cult following and spawned numerous sequel and spinoff initiatives, together with the 2004 TV film Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 direct-to-video sequel Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, and two direct-to-video anime sequels.

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Phrase of the brand new movie comes within the wake of the huge recognition of Helldivers 2, a 2024 online game that has drawn frequent comparisons to Starship Troopers as a result of its alien bug villains, satirical tone, and futuristic setting.

This isn't the primary time Blomkamp has signed on for a Verhoeven-adjacent mission. He was beforehand tapped to helm a RoboCop sequel in 2018, however departed the next 12 months.

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Blomkamp not too long ago directed Gran Turismo, a racing drama based mostly on the PlayStation online game franchise of the identical identify. He had beforehand tried to helm an Alien sequel starring Sigourney Weaver that was in the end shelved.

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