Released in 1997, Starship Troopers was a dud when it was released but has been a cult favorite over the years. A remake has been gestating for nearly as long, but now THR reports that the film is moving forward at Sony Pictures with Neill Blomkamp attached to direct!
Blomkamp, best known for his films District 9, Elysium, Chappie, and most recently Gran Turismo, will direct a remake of Starship Troopers. The film will be based on Robert A. Heinlen’s influential 1959 book set in a militarized future after Earth is attacked by extraterrestrial insectoids referred to as “Bugs”. Blomkamp will also write the screenplay, which could be more faithful to the source material.
Paul Verhoeven’s movie adaptation was vastly misunderstood upon release. What begins as an ode to rah-rah military propaganda movies takes a hard turn when it’s revealed that the “Bugs” aren’t necessarily the villains, as the warmongering, hyper-violent human soldiers turn out to be fascists amid a hostile takeover. Critics and audiences saw it as an endorsement of fascism rather than a criticism, and took the wildly over-the-top performances as poor acting.
Heinlen’s writing was a direct inspiration for James Cameron, seen in both Aliens and in Avatar. The Spartans in Halo also are clearly influenced by Heinlen.
Starship Troopers has grown into a multimedia franchise with three live-action movies and two animated, a pair of television shows and multiple video games. We’ll see if Blomkamp’s version inspires even more. This should scratch the sci-fi franchise itch that he’s had since his failed attempt to direct Alien 5.
