Hollywood Popular Artists

Jul 17th 2012, 17:00

Sure, "Elysium" hasn't hit theaters yet (or even released a trailer), but that doesn't mean it's too early to start asking Neill Blomkamp what he'll do next, right?

The director took to San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend to promote his upcoming sci-fi flick, his second time to the convention for as many movies. Though that project seems to be similar in style and tone to his debut project "District 9," Blomkamp teased to The Playlist that his next project, "Chappie," will be a departure from that style.

"It's like a fundamentally more simple story, a comedy, a heartfelt story, in a science fiction setting. And it's f--king hilarious," he teased. "It's a really cool film. I can say that with confidence… It's a smaller film, a more esoteric one."

At least Blomkamp is going back to his roots in some ways. Though he wrote "Elysium" on his own, "Chappie" will reteam Blomkamp with his "District 9" co-writer Terri Tatchell. This is exciting news, considering the first (and only) things we ever heard about this project back in 2011 were that Blomkamp had a movie called "Chappie" and it was set up with Media Rights Capital.

There's no guarantee that Blomkamp will work on "Chappie" after he's done with work on "Elysium," but he did say that it's likely. Sorry, fans who were hoping "District 10" would be coming out soon.

"It may very well be my next project," Blomkamp said. "It probably will be. But A) I wanna take some time off, and B) you need to know for sure that that's what you're going to do for X number of years. I have another idea for a horror, and for a comedy, but they're way less fleshed out than 'Chappie.' 'Chappie' 's ready to go, and I think 'Chappie' 's what I'm making. But I'm gonna take some time to make sure."

Speaking of a "District 9" follow-up, Blomkamp did tell The Playlist that he'll only be working with Peter Jackson again if it's on that movie. He just doesn't know when—or if—that will ever happen.

"I'm not sure I'm making that film," Blomkamp said. "It would be cool, but these films take two or three years to make, and the investments are so extreme, you can't accurately predict where you'll be a few years from now, I believe. If you're not creatively invested in it, you're making a mistake, and that creative investment happens day to day. So I don't know when that feeling for a 'District Whatever' film happens."

Which would you rather see first: "Chappie" or "District Whatever"? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Media files:
neillblomkamp.jpg (image/jpeg)
neillblomkamp-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)