I love District 9. I think it’s brilliant, and one of the best science fiction movies of the decade. I love every single thing about it.
I don’t want a prequel to it.
In general I don’t want a prequel to anything – it’s a lazy, boring way of telling a story – but I really don’t want a prequel to D9 because I got it all from the opening 20 minutes of the movie. I don’t need another film set in that world, and I don’t need a film that fills in D9‘s tiny gaps, answering minor questions like ‘How did the guns end up on the surface?’.
But Neill Blomkamp may be interested in one. Or he may be Oh Don Pianoing his butt off. Talking to the LA Times, Blomkamp says he doesn’t want to make a sequel to his film, but he would be intrigued by a prequel.
The concept of aliens in Johannesburg is such an appealing idea to me and the issues of race and how they meet. All of the things that I had going on with it. I wouldn’t mind messing around with it again. I’m open to it if the story works and there’s a reason to do it. And [Copley’s character] Wikus is so funny to me, I’m very interested in a sort of passive racist like that. If you go forward [with his story beyond “District 9”] it’s more of a traditional film but if you go backward I’d be intrigued in that. I’m not so interested in aliens coming back and blowing things up but [a prequel] might be interesting.
I’d much rather a sequel, and do it like Planet of the Apes– flip the script. Change the allegorical positions of all the factions, putting the prawns on top. Make the Nigerians freedom fighters. Have whites be collaborators. The permutations are endless and fascinating. A prequel? I don’t see it.
That said, Blomkamp is a damn smart guy. I recommend reading that whole interview, as his thoughts and insights into Hollywood, the star system and the omnipresence of publicity are smart as hell.
22 comments
Planet of the Apes, really old man?
Ugh, one of the this I liked about District 9 is that they didn't coddle the audience into the setting they laid it all out and then moved on.
seriuosly devin, stop with plaet of the apes shit..your the only damn person i know who is even SLIGHTLY interested i that series…that said, District 9 is a near perfect movie with 2 omissions:
1. They compltetely abandon the documentary feel after the first act and only return to it when it helps the narrative
2. the villains are equal to avatar villains in mustache-twirling
I hope the prequel is 120 minutes of Prawn scientists describing how alien bio-fuel turns humans into prawns.
People who bitch about how Blomkamp freely switched from docu to narrative remind me of the French "art authorities" in the 19th century who complained that Monet and Renoir's paintings didn't make sense.
My idea for a sequel:
Christopher Johnson hasn't returned, but outcry from whatever bits of the first movie were a documentary has spurred human authorities to reverse-engineer prawn tech and find out how to turn Wikus back. They get a comb or toothbrush from his wife, map out his genome, and then find him in the slums and turn him back into Wikus. Except it isn't Wikus, and they've just turned some random prawn into Sharlto Copley. Hijinks ensue!
Fuck, they should pay me for this gold I'm droppin' on website comments sections.
totally agree with you Devin. Doing a prequel completely nullifies the purpose of the pseudo-documentary style the movie was going for, invoking a "matter of fact" quality to the movie and giving the film the proper catalyst it needed in order for the audience to suspend disbelief. It worked flawlessly. There is no reason to do this, none whatsoever and really upsets me that Blomkamp would consider it
I think the approach to the 'prequel' would be to start from their homeworld (how it works, what it's like, why the left. ect) and get them to earth (i.e why did they get 2 earth). I think this could open up many different possibilities especially if they explore how the weapons got down and why they are there.
"the Nigerians"? Do you mean the black South Africans?
That he sees nowhere to go with the story except "aliens come back and blow things up" makes me think that the movie may have been a fluke and he doesn't have the creativity needed for a long career of worthwhile films.
@#9 no, the Nigerians as it explicitly states in the movie.
I'm Devin – and I – can't write one article – without – doing – this.
Gads no. Leave it alone or go Ape and flip the script as suggested. @#3: Try to pay attention to the swapping between Wikus' Doco and CJ's Movie narratives. Each serves a purpose and they do some nice sneaky things as they build up to the collision between the two. @#9: Ha, did you mean to call "Racist"? Cunt.
why not attempt something original rather than pulling a flip on apes or being pedantic with plot minutiae? Seeing as how the smart alien had fairly grounded morals you would assume that the intelligentsia of the prawns would approach the situation on earth in a fairly mild manner. why not have them try the bad SAfers for war crimes then try to negotiate a degree for colonization on earth. That way the plot would continue to reflect contemporary issues like windfalls of migration and governments committing unjustified acts of belligerence. It would also be an opportunity to present a clash of two species cultures. to make it more interesting, perhaps the aliens could offer to leave the earth in 200 years while they terraform the moon and mars. hmm?
I would personally like to see a continuation of the Wikus story, see him continue his jaunt as a prawn in the new District 10, have him struggling to keep his humanity (show an even more lower level of degradation of the prawns,maybe as slavery/workforce), have Christopher come back with a whole armada and an ultimatum, straighten up humanity or else! Maybe a few action beats with Wikus desperately trying to get back on the mother ship against Prawn guards.
And of course new alien tech.
I have – to admit – that sounds – pretty cool – indeed
Oh Don Piano, the figure of speech that only caught on with its inventor.
District 9 said nothing at all about race, unless the notion that Nigerians are evil cannibals, oppressed minorities are mindless scavengers and only a reluctant white guy can save the day strike you as fascinating post-Apartheid commentary.
You not a filmmaker Devin. Stop wishing they would make the film you want to see in your head. Let them make what they want and then we can all argue about it like civilised geeks.
Oh God, Devin's struggling desperately to believe that this is still a brilliant film.
Blomkamp state on G4 there would be a sequel. After all, the story was left with a cliff hanger. I would have rather they simply added 15-20 min to D9 where all the prawns gather in the traction beam, board the ship, and Wikis decides to go with them because now he is one of them in friendship (and physically). The last scene could have been a very powerful video broadcast of Christopher Johnson stating how they came to earth for help and instead were treated horribly by humans. With a final message of they will never return and the human race has a lot to learn about humanity.Instead, there will be a convoluted sequel or worse the ridiculous prequel.
The movie needs a sequel….not a prequel. Christopher said he'll come back in three years. Have him come back so we can see what the plan was for the Prawns in the first place. The prawn's leaders were killed off by a virus. What was the virus? Are humans immune? Would Wikus be immune? Were the Prawns planning to just save their people, or were they looking for a war? They had all those weapons. The can have a sequel that may answer the questions a prequel couldn't. If they want to do a prequel…I would say do it like Godfather 2. A sequel and a prequel in one film going back and forth.
Comments are shown as archived from the original site; new comments are closed.