Neill Blomkamp Uploads 'Rakka,' His New Sci-Fi Short With Sigourney Weaver
Neill Blomkamp’s long-discussed plans to make a fifth proper Alien film — one starring Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, and set after the events of James Cameron’s 1986 Aliens — is now officially dead, courtesy of Ridley Scott’s ongoing prequel franchise that so far includes Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Nonetheless, Blomkamp still was able to collaborate with Weaver on Rakka (watch it above), his new apocalyptic short sci-fi film. It runs 22 minutes, and is the first release from Blomkamp’s Oats Studios, which he launched to be able to experiment with ideas and to gauge interest in further development of the stories it tells.
Whether or not we ever see an expanded version of the above film, Rakka certainly feels like a Blomkamp work, from its shaky handheld cinematography to its tense, insurgency-style human-alien dynamics to its vision of a world filled with rusty, banged-up technological gadgets and weaponry. Plus, it features Weaver in a key role. She co-starred in — and defends — their often-maligned Chappie from 2015, and had been supportive of Blomkamp’s talk of his Alien 5.
If nothing else, Rakka shows that filmmakers such as Blomkamp are now taking all sorts of novel approaches to building excitement (and securing funding) for their passion projects. Judge the promise of Rakka for yourself by watching the short film in its entirety above.
Neill Blomkamp Flashback: Watch a ‘District 9’ Trailer:
Read more from Yahoo Movies: