Aside from some freaky set photos and viral marketing, not much has been revealed regarding Neill Blomkamp‘s sci-fi follow-up to his 2009 hit District 9. We know Elysium stars Matt Damon, Jodi Foster, Wagner Moura, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner and Diego Luna, but for the most part, it’s been under wraps. Sony Pictures is now slowly unveilings details, as they’ve kicked off their first round of test screenings for the film last night. There must be a pretty heavy NDA in place, since scouring the internet provides little response. But we do have the first official synopsis from Collider, which was including in the test screening pass. Check it out below.
In the year 2159 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max (Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.
The class conflict and political allegories seem to continue from his last film and I’m even getting some In Time vibes, but hopefully that will wash clean when the first trailer is unveiled. The idea of Matt Damon as a sci-fi action hero is an intriguing one, so I hope Sony Pictures releases some sort of teaser soon. I place my bets on Comic-Con in just about a month.
Elysium hits theaters March 1st, 2013.