Neil Blomkamp’s ‘Chappie’ is star-studded, should have massive geek appeal

When District 9 came out, South African-born director Neil Blomkamp’s was pretty much an unknown. The trouble with the kind of instant success he achieved with that film does however mean that people have put massive expectation on his later works. That applies as much to Chappie, the latest project from the acclaimed director, as to any others, if not more.

The film’s first trailer, now up on YouTube, shows massive star power, including the likes of Hugh Jackman (X-Men: The Last Stand, Les Misérables), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, The Last Airbender) and even the controversial South African rap duo, Die Antwoord.

Built by Patel, Chappie is a self-learning, feeling robot that will come “under the influence of his surroundings,” reads the plot. Like District 9, the film is set in South Africa, so it will be interesting to see how Blomkamp makes use of Johannesburg city-scape this time around. Here’s the full plot summary:

Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings – some good, some bad – and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there’s one thing that makes Chappie different from anyone else: he is a robot. The first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. His life, his story, will change the way the world looks at robots and humans forever.