HitFix

‘Elysium’s’ Neill Blomkamp preps ‘Chappie’ as next film

by: Uproxx authors

“Elysium” just opened last week, but writer-director Neill Blomkamp is already moving forward on his new film, “Chappie.”

The previously announced comedic sci-fi film — co-written with Blomkamp’s “District 9” collaborator Terri Tatchell — follows an artificially intelligent robot named Chappie who falls into the greedy hands of two low-level gangsters, played by Ninja and Yolandi Visser, the primary members of the South African rap-rave duo Die Antwoord. “Elysium and “District 9” star Sharlto Copley will play the voice of Chappie.

Blomkamp will also produce with Simon Kinberg. Sony Pictures Entertainment and MRC announced today that they’ll co-produce and co-finance the film. Prinicipal photography is scheduled to begin this fall.

 “We”re huge fans of Neill Blomkamp – it”s a real thrill to be continuing our relationship with such a visionary and important filmmaker,” Columbia’s Doug Belgrad said in a release. “Neill has proven that he is a true original voice and we expect that Chappie will strike a chord with worldwide audiences in the same way that ‘District 9’ and ‘Elysium’ have. We love the script he and Terri have written and we”re looking forward to working again with our friends at MRC.”
“Neill is an incredibly talented and bold artist and we are proud to continue to support his work.  We are looking forward to partnering with the team at Sony on Chappie,” added Modi Wiczyk, co-CEO of MRC.

“Elysium,” starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, opened to $29.8 million in North America last weekend.

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