For his follow-up to District 9, director Neill Blomkamp is adding variety to his ensemble cast. We have the big Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. Then, there is his D9 break-out lead Sharlto Copley and everyone’s favorite character actor, William Fichtner. Brazilian actor Wagner Moura of of Elite Squad fame is our villain and the latest addition the cast was Alice Braga. But now we have a brand new player, Variety reports.
Y Tu Mama Tambien and Milk star Diego Luna is in talks to play Julio, Matt Damon‘s best friend in the film. In real life, Luna is best friends with Gael García Bernal and you may know the duo from Tambien as well as Rudo Y Cursi. They also star together in Will Ferrell‘s hilarious-looking Casa de mi Padre. Luna will also been seen in the thriller Contraband next spring, alongside Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, and Ben Foster.
Details on the entire film are being kept under wraps, but we know Foster is in the role of an alien planet’s “head of state.” Blomkamp also said that it’s set about 150 years in the future, while containing “sociopolitical ideas wrapped up inside a Hollywood action film.” Producer Simon Kinsberg also recently spoke about the film to io9, and you can read his thoughts below.
io9: You’re also working on Neill Blomkamp’s next picture Elysium, how is this going to be different from all the other alien pictures that came out after District 9?
Kinberg: I can’t tell you about the content of Elysium but I can tell you, it won’t really be… it’s a very different movie than anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s not necessarily an alien movie. He set himself up, because [District 9] was one of the greatest first films any director’s ever made. I’m hoping that this movie has an opportunity to be even better. He was very young when he directed that movie, he was like 26 or 27. He’s only 31 now. He’s learned as a filmmaker, he’s evolved as a filmmaker. Visually, stylistically it’s actually very different than District 9.
io9: How so?
Kinberg: I literally will be murdered in my sleep if I tell you too much more. It’s a unique movie. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. And I will say, where I would be daunted because of District 9 being this masterpiece Neill is so talented as a writer and as a director that I’m kind of fearless going into this movie. I just think the guy is special.
io9: One of the big themes in District 9 was second class citizens and other social issues. What are the big social issues what are the big themes in this picture?
Kinberg: I can’t tell you what the big themes are, but I can tell you that there are big themes. He’s someone who’s really interested in the world. He’s not a filmmaker who’s only interested in other movies. He’s somebody who’s interested in the politics of the world, the reality of the world. Whatever kind of movie he makes in whatever genre, it’s never simply going to be a synthetic movie about the movies he liked growing up. It’s always going to be about something bigger, and this movie is too.
Elysium opens in theaters on March 1st, 2013 with production beginning this summer.
What do you think about Luna’s involvement and Kinsberg’s thoughts?