A while back, no-namer Neill Blomkamp was set to adapt a feature film of the popular video game HALO, but the plug was pulled over budget concerns. I'm sure Neill saw his career flash before his eyes, but then Peter Jackson came from the sci-fi heavens to help Neill make a full-length feature of his short film, ALIVE IN JOBURG. The film was called DISTRICT 9, had a $33 million budget, and went on to gross over $184 million worldwide. Now Blomkamp is on every studio's radar (as well as Sharlto Copley, the then-unknown star of DISTRICT 9, who was recently cast in the A-TEAM big screen adaptation), as he damn well should be!

Variety announced last evening that Media Rights Capital has just signed Neill on to make a new sci-fi film. Blomkamp will begin the writing and visual process ASAP, and production of the untitled film is slated to start in mid-2010. He will have total creative control over the project.

“MRC is letting me make the film I want to make and that is by far the most important thing here,” Blomkamp said. “The film will hopefully be commercial, but it is very much a singular film, that comes directly from me. `District 9’ was a bit different. I was learning the process then, under Peter Jackson’s wing. He had control, but was awesome enough to let me make the film I wanted to."

Also, to serve in extremely awesome news, Neill will be making the sequel to DISTRICT 9 sometime in the near future:

"Blomkamp will certainly make a 'District 9' sequel with Sony—will the bureaucrat-turned-alien return to human form and reunite with his pretty wife?--but the MRC project will be Blomkamp’s next directing assignment."

What would you like to see Blomkamp tackle with his next film? And what ideas do you have for a DISTRICT 9 sequel?

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