Thanks to his appearances in Neill Blomkamp’s grungy sci-fi films District 9, Elysium and Chappie, South African actor Sharlto Copley has become synonymous with movies of this otherworldly oeuvre. With that in mind, we are thrilled to pass on this piece of news: Copley has signed a deal to write and direct a feature for the first time, and it’s going to be a science fiction film.
QC Entertainment has committed to finance Sharlto Copley’s directorial debut, Sapien Safari, which the actor wrote and intends to appear in himself. QC Entertainment, if you were wondering who they are, recently helped another familiar face helm his debut movie: that would Jordan Peele, whose first film was the Oscar-winning horror/thriller, Get Out.
Sapien Safari is described as a “social comedy” which focuses on an “alien naturalist” named Riblik, who has been described as “the Steve Irwin of the galaxy”. We expect Copley to star as Riblik, who over the course of the film will face “an uphill battle to convince the green new owner of Earth that its dominant wildlife species is worth protecting.”
Commenting on this exciting news, Sharlto Copley himself said this: “In an increasingly risk-averse environment, the team at QC have been an enormous blessing. They have an eye for bold, edgy and original material with commercial potential. Once on board, they wholeheartedly back the filmmaker. One can’t ask for more.”
QC’s spokespeople described Copley’s vision for the project as “wildly imaginative and unique”.
We’ll bring you more news as we hear it.