Director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) has discussed movie adaptations and sequels during a press event for his new film Elysium. He talked about the aborted adaptation of the video game Halo (which he tried to get into production a few years ago), revealing he would have liked the chance to make it his own way:
“I still really love the world and the universe and the mythology of Halo. If I was given control, I would really like to do that film. But that’s the problem. When something pre-exists, there’s this idea of my own interpretation versus 150 other people involved with the film’s interpretation of the same intellectual property. Then the entire filmgoing audience has their interpretation. You can really live up to or fail in their eyes. That part isn’t appealing to me, but the original pieces are appealing.”
He also touched on the possibility of being involved with movie sequels and established franchises in the future:
“I think a lot of it just comes down to if there’s more to say. I think the world of District 9 has a lot of race and oppression-based ideas that I would still like to explore in that world… Then there’s a few pieces of cinema history that I like so much. I don’t know if I could be involved with them, but there’s iconic characters out there that I really like and would love to get closer to and make a film about.”
Elysium is due for release on September 20th in the UK, and you can watch the first trailer for it here.
Originally published April 10, 2013. Updated December 13, 2019.
