Following District 9 and Elysium, Neill Blomkamp is currently piecing together his third South Africa based outing. Black comedy Chappie once again involves serious hardware, as Blomkamp’s go-to actor Sharlto Copley plays a robot used for nefarious purposes by gangsters.
Two of the gangsters are set to be played by main vocalists Ninja and Yolandi Visser from South African rap-rave band Die Antwoord. However, it appears that Ninja was a supremely disruptive influence on set and consequently has had his role reduced in the final piece. Unspecified sources quote Blomkamp as stating that “I don’t ever want to be in the same room as him again.”
Various cast members are said to have stories about the singer’s behaviour, from inappropriate advances on women on set, to attempting to disrupt other actors by telling them everything they are is wrong. Subsequently, at least one scene involving Ninja was rewritten so that it didn’t include him and didn’t need to return to the set.
The only official statement comes from Susie Arons, who represents Chappie’s producers, Media Rights Capital: “Neill Blomkamp is hard at work getting Chappie ready for release. As with all things Chappie, our lips are sealed, but we are looking forward to sharing the final film with Neill’s fans around the world.”
After being kidnapped by two criminals during birth, Chappie becomes the adopted son in a strange and dysfunctional family. Chappie is preternaturally gifted, one of a kind, a prodigy. He also happens to be a robot. The film also stars Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel and Sigourney Weaver. It is set for release in 2015.
Originally published February 5, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
