District 9 director Neill Blomkamp’s forthcoming sociopolitical sci-fi film Elysium has just landed a commitment from Jodie Foster, who will join Matt Damon and Blomkamp’s longtime collaborator Sharlto Copley in the still-shrouded-in-mystery project. It’s quite a coup for a film that doesn’t even have a studio commitment yet, but considering the talent involved, it seems like an easy sell.
There have been a couple of hints as to what's in store—or maybe not: Back in November, the below teaser trailer (since dubbed “AGM Heartland”) leaked via the iPad’s Wired app, with /Film later revealing that it was part of “an online website with video, audio and textual content and images featuring characters and storylines about a fictional genetic engineering company that produces genetically engineered and altered organisms.” What still isn’t clear is whether “AGM Heartland” is its own self-contained project or part of the overall story of Elysium, but it seems safe to say that Blomkamp is definitely still interested in the intersection of bureaucracy and disgusting, slimy, genetic aberrations—in this case, some sort of SlugBearPig. Anyway, talk show hosts are advised to go ahead and begin constructing their allusions to Jodie Foster’s experience in dealing with unpredictable, repulsive things.