As the curtain is being lifted on Neill Blomkamp‘s forthcoming summer sci-fi “Elysium,” another is being lowered over his next effort, “Chappie.” Story details on the film are under lock and key, but the cast is already grabbing attention with South African rap duo Die Antwoord slated as the leads in the film, with Blomkamp buddy Sharlto Copley also coming on board. The movie will cost $50 million, but besides that morsel, not much else is known about the sci-fi comedy, and Blomkamp ain’t talking.
Den Of Geek tried to wring something out of him in a recent interview, and while he unsurprisingly didn’t offer much, he did say that the film is “basically based on ‘Tetra Vaal.’ ” So what is “Tetra Vaal”? Well, it’s a very brief 2003 effort that is basically a fake corporate video introducing some kind of rabbit-eared robot cop. “You’ll see some more Briareos ears,” Blomkamp also teased, but that’s about it. Considering he previously told Empire the movie would feature “a “ridiculous robot character,” it could be coming back. And either way, this isn’t the first time Blomkamp has expanded on ideas from a short, with “District 9” basically acting as a big screen take on “Alive In Joburg.”
Food for thought, but until we know more, check out “Tetra Vaal” below.