District 10: Everything We Know

For fans of meaningful science fiction, South African filmmaking prodigy Neill Blomkamp’s 2009 movie ‘District 9’ was a breath of fresh air from the barrage of action and superhero movies that dominate the sci-fi movie genre these days. Based on Blomkamp’s own 2006 short film ‘Alive in Joburg’, ‘District 9’ was a smash hit, amassing over $200 million at the box office on a relatively small budget.  Given the film’s commercial appeal and open-ended concluding act, a sequel has been expected for years. So, is there going to be a ‘District 10’? Read on to find out everything we know.

District 10 Release Date: When Will it Premiere?

As of now, there is no official release date for ‘District 10’, and the film is still yet to go into production. Director Neill Blomkamp is currently preoccupied with other projects including ‘Inferno’ and a new Alien film. He has previously revealed that it will take him at least three years to create a sequel to ‘District 9’. Considering everything, the earliest I would expect ‘District’ sequel to release is 2023.

District 10 Plot: What Can it Be About?

A sequel to ‘District 9’, tentatively titled ‘District 10’ was all but confirmed by series writer and director Neill Blomkamp a couple of years ago. During an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, Blomkamp said, “Ok, so with District 10 the basic answer is yes. I want to go back to that world and tell rest of the story with Wikus and Christopher.”

Although the first film wasn’t particularly created with a sequel in mind, the actual ending itself left a lot of room for a new film to expand and flesh out the universe. Based on Blomkamp’s words, we will likely see the return of Christopher back to Earth, just like he said. He will likely seek out Wikus in order to fulfil his promise of healing his alien affliction, but it may very well be that Wikus has fully transformed into an alien and the part of him that was human is no longer there.

Of course, the forced relocation of the alien community into the fenced in District 10 is also ripe for social and military tension, and could be fertile ground for a full on insurrection. There is also the question of what Christopher finds on his home world. If he returns with militarily equipped allies of his own, ‘District 10’ could feature a full-blown war between the humans and the aliens.

‘District 9’ was also influenced heavily by Blomkamp’s experiences growing up in South Africa, particularly those with Apartheid and Cape Town’s infamous District Six incident in the 1970s. Refraining from mindless Sci-Fi action and excitement, ‘District 9’ chooses to tackle complex themes such as xenophobia, social segregation and oppression to drive home a powerful message.

Blomkamp has outlined his desire to retain these elements in ‘District 10’ as well, which means that the movie is unlikely to feature an ‘Independence Day’ like macho action science fiction vibe. Instead, it is much more likely to be a commentary of sorts on the terrible nature of war, and how our fear of the unknown drives us to the depth of depravity.

District 10 Cast and Crew: Who Can Be Behind it?

‘District 9’ is directed by South African screenwriter, animator and filmmaker Neill Blomkamp. Blomkamp also wrote the script for the movie in collaboration with Canadian screenwriter Terri Tatchell. Blomkamp employs a very unique filmmaking style that incorporates documentary style hand held footage, naturalistic and photorealistic computer generated effects to tell complex stories with underlying themes of xenophobia and social segregation. He is best known for movies like ‘Elysium’ and ‘Chappie’ among others. Blomkamp himself will be writing and directing ‘District 10’ as well.

The main cast of the ‘District 9’ includes Sharlto Copley as Wikus van de Merwe, Jason Cope as Christopher Johnson, David James as Colonel Koobus Venter and Eugene Khumbanyiwa as Obesandjo, a Nigerian arms dealer. Copley and Cope are both expected to return in ‘District 10’ as Wikus and Christopher respectively. The rest of the film’s casting is yet to be finalized.

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