14 DAY TRIAL // “District 9,” the alien movie atop at the North American box-office this weekend and clearly the biggest surprise of the new releases, might get to see a sequel as well, main star Sharlto Copley reveals for MTV. The way the entire movie was shot means a lot of extra scenes were left after it was edited and the material in itself could be just enough for a sequel, which is now warranted somehow by the film’s performance at the box-office.
Coming from the relatively new to the scene director Neill Blomkamp, the gritty sci-fi movie deals with one of the unlikeliest and, at the same time, most dreaded alliances ever imagined by man, that between humans and aliens who possess the kind of weaponry and technology that we neither understand nor are able to replicate. The aliens are all camped in a large, over-militarized and extremely well-guarded area that comes to be known as District 9. Trouble begins when military forces are deployed in the area with the purpose of relocating the aliens to another region, a new one, District 10.
“Copley said that the very nature of the production – its improvisatory dialogue, the filmmakers’ decision to shoot tons of material and see what developed – left nearly enough video on the cutting room floor for another installment. ‘The behind-the-scenes DVD is gonna be crazy because we shot an enormous amount of footage,’ the actor said. ‘There were a lot of exciting avenues to want to go down and you really [have to fit it all] into a small block of time.’” MTV writes, after speaking to Copley about the extra material left.
Even if said material is not enough or not good enough for a sequel, it would still make for an impressive bonus for when the film comes out on DVD. Whichever of these two it might turn out to be, it has to come for the right reasons and not on purely financial consideration, both director Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson believe. Moreover, if fans want a sequel and they feel it would not ruin their first experience with “District 9,” then they will most certainly have a sequel if Blomkamp and Jackson feel the same.
“When I started thinking about it, I thought I’d totally like to go back to the creative universe of ‘District 9’ for sure. Hopefully there’s a place for that sometime in the future. It has to kind of do well first.” Blomkamp told the media a while back, before the theatrical release of the film. Jackson, on the other hand, says it has to come from the heart: “I believe movies should come from the heart, and if there’s any sequel or continuation of ‘District 9,’ it should only be because there’s a good idea involved, not because it’s a money-making venture.”
Below is the official trailer for “District 9.” Check it out if you haven’t seen the movie yet and keep an eye here for updates on this.