While the soap about Neill Blomkamp and his long-awaited Alien project still has an uncertain ending, the South African filmmaker has announced what is going to be his next movie. It will be called Greenland and although it is still too early in pre-production it has transcended that Chris Evans, popular for playing Captain America in the latest Marvel cinematographical adaptations, will star.
It is still too early to have a full description of the plot, but is will flow around a family’s fight for survival in the face of a cataclysmic natural disaster. It has been called a thriller, but knowing Blomkamp‘s background and full interest in science fiction it will surely be filled with supernatural and fantastic happenings. Riverstone Pictures is co-financing with producers from Anton, and STXinternational will take care of international distribution.
Despite his young age, Neill Blomkamp was already an experienced director of short films and commercials when he reached fame and fortune with his debut feature film District 9 (2009). Written by Blomkamp and starred by his good friend and frequent collaborator Sharlto Copley, the movie told the story of an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth who finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology. And then, the war between humans and aliens start. This movie had a strong social background and strong political charge, features shared with the director’s upcoming titles Elysium (2013) and Chappie (2015). In the last years, Neill Blomkamp has been dedicated to his short science fiction featurettes and also to develop all sorts of conceptual ideas and imaginary for his desired Alien movie. A movie which he planned to place after the events happened in Aliens (1986), bringing back to scene the characters of Ellen Ripley and Dwayne Hicks, played again by original actors Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn.
According to Deadline, the CEO of producers company Anton stated “when we read Greenland, we knew it was exactly the sort of film we wanted to make as we build the Anton brand — smart, character-driven genre with action and heart. We are very excited to work alongside our friends at STX with such exceptional talent as Neill Blomkamp, Chris Evans and [producer] Basil Iwanyk”. That means the script for Greenland is already written, probably by director Neill Blomkamp himself who is the writer of all his movies until date.
David Kosse, president of STXinternational, adds, “Greenland is the kind of highly commercial genre fare that sees Neill Blomkamp doing what he does best: delivering a smart, fresh, high concept narrative in a world we can easily recognize. We were immediately attracted to this talent-driven, wide release, theatrical title that is so distinctive of the STX brand. Working alongside Neill, Thunder Road, Riverstone and Anton to bring this to the marketplace is a tremendous opportunity”.
Principal photography for Greenland is set to start in the last quarter of 2018, so it’s fair to think in the upcoming months more information related to this new Neill Blomkamp movie will emerge.
