'District 9' director Neill Blomkamp enlists for new 'Starship Troopers' movie
Neill Blomkamp is doing his part.
The District 9 filmmaker is working on a new Starship Troopers movie for Sony's Columbia Pictures division, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed. The film will be a new adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel rather than a direct remake of Paul Verhoeven's 1997 movie, which followed a group of young recruits who go to war against alien "bugs."
In addition to directing, Blomkamp is writing the screenplay and will produce alongside Terri Tatchell, his wife and frequent collaborator. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.
Blomkamp's previous films like District 9 and Elysium featured strong sociopolitical commentary channeled through a sci-fi lens, which makes the filmmaker an intriguing successor to Verhoeven, who put a satirical spin on Heinlein's material.
Related: Starship Troopers cast remembers the film's 'lousy reception' before becoming cult classic
However, it remains unclear exactly what Blomkamp's angle on Starship Troopers will be, because if he's not remaking or rebooting Verhoeven's work, and instead returning to Heinlein's original novel, that means the project might lack the ironic detachment of the 1997 movie. Heinlein's book has been the subject of some controversy, as its ardent militarism and unsympathetic rendering of alien antagonists have been widely described as fascist.
Verhoeven himself took major issue with Heinlein's viewpoint, and sought to make his adaptation a satire of the original book. "It is really quite a bad book," the Dutch filmmaker told Empire in 2020. "It's a very right-wing book. And with the movie we tried, and I think at least partially succeeded, in commenting on that at the same time. It would be eat your cake and have it. All the way through we were fighting with the fascism, the ultra-militarism. All the way through I wanted the audience to be asking, 'Are these people crazy?'"
Verhoeven's film didn't strongly connect with audiences upon its initial release, making $121 million at the global box office on a budget that exceeded $100 million. However, the movie has gained a cult following and spawned a number of sequel and spinoff projects, including the 2004 TV movie Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 direct-to-video sequel Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, and two direct-to-video anime sequels.
Related: Starship Troopers cast: Where are they now?
Word of the new film comes in the wake of the massive popularity of Helldivers 2, a 2024 video game that has drawn frequent comparisons to Starship Troopers due to its alien bug villains, satirical tone, and futuristic setting.
This isn't the first time Blomkamp has signed on for a Verhoeven-adjacent project. He was previously tapped to helm a RoboCop sequel in 2018, but departed the following year.
Related: Sigourney Weaver says the 'ship has sailed' on her playing Ripley in Alien sequel: 'I put in my time in space'
Blomkamp recently directed Gran Turismo, a racing drama based on the PlayStation video game franchise of the same name. He had previously attempted to helm an Alien sequel starring Sigourney Weaver that was ultimately shelved.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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