10 Movie Sequels Stuck In Production Hell

Neill Blomkamp's District 9 remains one of the most impressive and unexpected Hollywood success stories of the last 20 years.

Blomkamp's scintillating directorial debut not only grossed a mighty $210.8 million against a mere $30 million budget, but went on to receive four Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

And most Best Picture nominees wish they had the sort of ripe sequel-bait that District 9 did. A follow-up was organically set up at the end of the movie, and even before it was released, Blomkamp talked-up his interest in a sequel.

Though Blomkamp has continually expressed enthusiasm for District 10, some 14 years later it still hasn't happened.

He's certainly been kept busy enough with other projects - none of which have matched District 9's level of critical or commercial success - though in February 2021 revealed that he was back to working on the script.

Last August, star Sharlto Copley reiterated that drafts of the script had been written, and that Blomkamp would be returning to it after finishing his currently-shooting Gran Turismo video game adaptation.

Part of the problem now is that Blomkamp's brand as a filmmaker has been severely dented by his underwhelming and flat-out failed projects in recent years, meaning the trust may simply not be there to give him the budget he needs to produce the sequel.

If Gran Turismo is a box office smash then it'll certainly make District 10's path forward easier, but given how much time has passed since the original, the sequel feels destined to endure as a devastatingly unrealised "what if?" project.