Eminem and Die Antwoord rapper Ninja were each almost the stars of one of 2013's biggest sci-fi blockbusters. Both musicians reportedly turned down the lead role in Elysium, forcing director Neill Blomkamp to settle for plain old Oscar-winner Matt Damon.

Elysium, which will be released on 23 August, tells the story of Mac DeCosta, a reformed car thief, who travels to a luxurious space station controlled by the planet's richest people.

While Damon plays DeCosta in the completed film, he was apparently not Blomkamp's first or even second choice for the role. According to a new article in Wired, the South African director first approached one of his countrymen: Ninja, one half of the rap-rave trio Die Antwoord.

Ninja, aka Watkin Tudor Jones, has a beguiling physical presence: sinuous and muscular, his body has been an important prop in his band's sensational music videos. He is a huge fan of Blomkamp's previous film, District 9, and has the characters "D9" tattooed on his inner lip. Die Antwoord told the Guardian they were thrilled when Blomkamp first wrote to them, in 2010, with the message, "I fucking love you guys."

However, despite his enthusiasm for Blomkamp's work, Ninja eventually decided to sit Elysium out. "It was a fucked-up, difficult decision," he told Wired. The fact is, as a proud South African, the 38-year-old didn't want his first movie role to come as an American-accented character in a Hollywood popcorn flick.

Disappointed by Ninja, Blomkamp allegedly contacted Eminem. The rapper – real name Marshall Mathers – had already demonstrated his acting chops in the 2002 film 8 Mile. Although it seems Eminem was "interested", he had a single, disqualifying condition: Elysium would have to be shot where he lives, in Detroit.

In the end, Blomkamp found Damon. And it appears that Ninja will yet get a chance to cavort in front of Blomkamp's lens: he and his Die Antwoord partner, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, have both been cast in the filmmaker's forthcoming sci-fi comedy, Chappie.