Sony has kept Neill Blomkamp in the fold, making a deal with Media Rights Capital to co-produce, co-finance and distribute his next film, called Chappie. Blomkamp will direct the script he wrote with Terri Tatchell. He will also produce the film with Simon Kinberg. Production begins this fall. Chappie tells the story of a robot imbued with artificial intelligence who is stolen by two local gangsters who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes. Sharlto Copley, star of Blomkamp’s District 9 and Elysium, will voice the robot. Ninja and Yolandi Visser, voices of the South African Zef counter-culture movement and members of rap-rave duo Die Antwoord, will play the gangsters.

Said production president Doug Belgrad: “We’re huge fans of Neill Blomkamp – it’s a real thrill to be continuing our relationship with such a visionary and important filmmaker. Neill has proven that he is a true original voice and we expect that Chappie will strike a chord with worldwide audiences in the same way that District 9 and Elysium have. We love the script he and Terri have written and we’re looking forward to working again with our friends at MRC.”