New Starship Troopers movie in the works from Neill Blomkamp

THR reports that Neill Blomkamp will write and direct a new Starship Troopers movie for Columbia Pictures. The report states that this won’t be a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s sci-fi classic, but will follow the original novel by Robert A. Heinlein, which was published in 1959.

The novel follows Juan “Johnny” Rico as he joins the Federal Service and goes through the toughest boot camp in the universe as an interstellar war between Earth and an alien species known as Arachnids rages on. Although the novel was very successful, even winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960, some have criticized it for its militaristic and fascist elements. Verhoeven took the concept to the extreme for his movie, presenting a satire of authoritarian governance.

Blomkamp will also produce the new Starship Troopers movie alongside his wife and partner, Terri Tatchell, who co-wrote District 9 and Chappie.

This project will mark Blomkamp’s return to sci-fi after his last two projects, a direct sequel to Aliens and a follow-up to Robocop, fell apart. His long-awaited District 9 sequel is still in the works, although the director didn’t exactly sound enthused about the project the last time he spoke about it. “I don’t know if I even want to make that right now,” Blomkamp said in 2023, “but at some point down the line, it’ll probably get made.“

Blomkamp most recently directed Gran Turismo. The film was based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver. The film grossed $122 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews, including one from JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray. “Blomkamp also does a good job walking a fine line between depicting the racing action in a realistic, immersive way while staying true to the style of the gameplay,” Bumbray wrote. “While this lacks the hardcore tone of Blomkamp’s sci-fi films, it’s a good stab at mainstream studio filming from the director, and he’s done an excellent job making a family crowd-pleaser.” You can check out the full review right here.

What do you think of Neill Blomkamp directing a new Starship Troopers movie?

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