A New Starship Troopers Movie Could Happen, but Maybe Don’t Hold Your Breath

First things first: do we really need a new take on Starship Troopers? Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s classic 1959 novel has become a classic in its own right, satirizing ideas about fascism and the military-industrial complex with a uniquely potent cheekiness. It also gave us Neil Patrick Harris as a psychic who talks to alien bugs, Denise Richards as a kick-ass starship pilot, and Michael Ironside as a grizzled yet fierce squad leader—plus squishy violence, weird sportsand quotable lines galore.

With 1997’s Starship Troopers creeping back into pop-culture consciousness last year thanks to Helldivers 2it makes sense that Hollywood would want to capitalize with a new film version. As the Hollywood Reporter has revealed, Columbia has tapped Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie) to write and direct.

Sci-fi is certainly an arena Blomkamp is well familiar with, though his last two features were outside the genre: 2021 horror film Demonic and 2023 sports drama Gran Tourism. But since his breakthrough with 2009’s District 9he’s also been associated with a few high-profile projects that didn’t end up getting off the ground, including entries in the Alien and RoboCop franchises. (RoboCopwhich was also directed by Paul Verhoeven, is now slated to become a Prime Video streaming series.)

However, the past is the past, and Blomkamp may yet find his next sci-fi success in the far-future setting of Starship Troopers. And it sounds like for all the fans of the 1997 movie, this new project will represent a fresh spin on Heinlein’s story; as THR notes, “Blomkamp’s take is not a remake of the Verhoeven movie, and sources say the goal is to go back to the source material.”

What do you think about a new Starship Troopers? Add your own “Would you like to know more?” joke here, if you must.

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