For a long time, it seemed as though District 10, the much-rumored sequel to Neill Blomkamp's debut feature District 9 would never happen, but it was finally announced back in February, and the director has now explained why it's finally coming together. District 9 was released in 2009 to critical acclaim, and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film focused on a fictional district in Johannesburg, South Africa, created to house insectoid aliens after their ship appeared above the city in the 1980s. Twenty years later, after being forced to live in a segregated slum, an alien father and son attempt to return to their home planet and encounter a human bureaucrat (Sharlto Copley) attempting to enforce the relocation of the aliens.

District 9 jump-started Blomkamp's career, with the director going on to direct other science-fiction films such as Elysium in 2013 and Chappie in 2015, and was briefly attached to an Alien sequel. He is next set to make a shift towards the horror genre with Demonicwhich is set for release later this month, and follows a woman as she unleashes demons connected to the decades-old rift between her and her mother. While the director has found success elsewhere, fans of District 9 have never given up hope of a sequel, with Blomkamp teasing its existence for almost twelve years. However, Blomkamp finally delivered, announcing District 10's existence earlier this year.

Related: Everything We Know About District 10

Speaking to NMEBlomkamp explained that the biggest reason why a sequel to District 9 never happened before was simply that "there never really seemed to be a good reason to make a sequel," which is understandable. Considering the allegorical significance of the original film, it would be a disservice to make a sequel solely for the purpose of churning out a sequel. Blomkamp added that his opinion changed when he "saw a documentary about a well-known socio-political topic two years ago and that had a massive effect on me– it made me understand how this sequel could have a real reason for existing. The second that clicked, I just began working."

Wikus Van De Merwe in District 9

Blomkamp added that for a long time "all of the experience of my adolescence growing up in South Africa was defined by what District 9 said, and that was the end of it." Much of the original film served as an allegory for apartheid South Africa, which Blomkamp grew up in. The film's eponymous District 9 even drew its name from Cape Town's District Six, a former residential area from which 60,000 non-white residents were forcibly removed and their homes destroyed during the late 1960s and 70s. However, despite its political commentary, the film has also received criticism for its portrayal of Nigerians as well as accusations of white-saviorism.

Blomkamp clearly has more to say now, however, as District 10while sharing the name with the camp the aliens are moved to at the end of the original filmis set to focus on a period from American history that the director believes fits with the world of District 9. At the same time, it's unclear whether the sequel will follow on from where its predecessor left off, exploring its themes within the context of South Africa, or if it will shift focus across to the US and loosely connect back to the first film. Regardless, the script is said to be well underway, but it might be a while before we hear anything more about what the film will entail. Blomkamp is said to be throwing everything he has creatively at the project, though, so hopefully it shouldn't be too long a wait.

More: District 10: Why Blomkamp's Plan Is Better Than A Direct District 9 Sequel

Source: NME