Sony Officially Reboots Starship Troopers After Helldivers Movie Announcement

Sony is set to reboot the iconic Starship Troopers franchise, with acclaimed director Neill Blomkamp, known for films like District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, taking the helm to write and direct. This new project, backed by Sony's Columbia Pictures, will be a fresh adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 military sci-fi novel, rather than a sequel or continuation of Paul Verhoeven's 1997 cult classic.

Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers satirized the novel it was based on. Photo by TriStar Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images.

The announcement of Blomkamp's involvement comes as a surprise, especially since Sony recently revealed plans for a live-action adaptation of the popular PlayStation game Helldivers. Interestingly, Helldivers draws significant inspiration from Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers, featuring soldiers fighting alien bugs in defense of a satirical fascist regime dubbed "Super Earth," all while promoting "Liberty and Managed Democracy."

With both the new Starship Troopers and Helldivers films in development, Sony faces an intriguing situation where these projects might compete. However, it's important to note that Blomkamp's take on Starship Troopers aims to return to the original tone and themes of Heinlein's novel, which starkly contrasts with Verhoeven's satirical approach.

Neither the new Starship Troopers nor the Helldivers movie has a set release date yet, so fans might have to wait a while before seeing these projects come to fruition. Blomkamp's most recent work was with Sony on Gran Turismo, an adaptation of the renowned PlayStation driving simulation series.