First Set Photos of Matt Damon in Neill Blomkamp's 'Elysium'

Tuesday, 09 August 2011 13:27 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

Add new comment

Rate this item

(0 votes)

First Set Photos of Matt Damon in Neill Blomkamp's 'Elysium'

In District 9, the thoroughly awesome 2009 feature debut of director and co-writer Neill Blomkamp, protagonist Wikus Van De Merwe spent the majority of the film's running time doubled over in pain whilst undergoing a gruesome physical transformation before eventually ending up in some armored alien hardware for a spell. Blomkamp is currently shooting his second film, a mysterious science fiction project titled Elysium, and the first photos from the Vancouver set have made their way online. The blurry images suggest that, like Wikus, the hero of this new film, played by a bald Matt Damon, will endure plenty of physical discomfort and will also wear some sort of techno-suit thingie.

These images are courtesy of Crazy Critics.

Blomkamp is the sole screenwriter on Elysium, and following the success of District 9, he's gathered quite a cast. There's Damon, of course, as well as Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, and Sharlto Copley, who starred as Wikus last time out. We know pretty much zilch about the story beyond the fact that it's set on another planet a century in the future and will involve plenty of social commentary in the vein of District 9, a sci-fi allegory set in Blomkamp's native South Africa.

The Elysium production will continue to film in Vancouver through September, at which point it will relocate to Mexico. Sony Pictures has set a release of March 1, 2013.