Media Rights Capital is teaming up with District 9 writer-director Neill Blomkamp for an untitled sci-fi project that will begin production by the middle of next year. Blomkamp will immediately start writing and preparing the visual effects and the film will be modest by sci-fi standards, but it will certainly cost more than District 9, which was budgeted under $30 million and grossed more than $184 million worldwide.

“MRC is letting me make the movie I want to make, and that is by far the most important thing here,” Blomkamp said. “The film will hopefully be commercial, but it is very much a singular film, (one) that comes directly from me.”

That quote says a lot about the young and upcoming director who got somewhat jaded by studios early in his career after he and Peter Jackson worked tirelessly to get their Halo vision on screen only to have it shot down. The two collaborated and decided to take Blomkamp’s short film, Live from Joburg, and make it into a feature film. That movie was District 9.

Blomkamp is easily one of the most unique directors out there right now and it will be interesting to see what he does with more budget and another original concept.