Sony Officially Reboots Starship Troopers After Helldivers Movie Announcement

Sony is actively developing a new reboot of the iconic Starship Troopers franchise, with acclaimed director Neill Blomkamp, known for films like District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, set to helm the project. This new adaptation, confirmed by reputable sources including The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and Variety, is based directly on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 military sci-fi novel and will be produced by Sony's Columbia Pictures.

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

Interestingly, this new film will not be a sequel or related to Paul Verhoeven's 1997 cult classic Starship Troopers, which offered a satirical take on Heinlein's work. Instead, Blomkamp aims to return to the source material, promising a different tone and perspective compared to Verhoeven's version.

The announcement of Blomkamp's involvement comes at an intriguing time, as Sony has also recently revealed plans for a live-action adaptation of the popular PlayStation game Helldivers. This game, developed by Arrowhead, draws heavy inspiration from Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, featuring a similar theme of soldiers fighting alien bugs in a satirized fascist regime known as Super Earth.

With both projects in development, Sony finds itself in a unique position where the new Starship Troopers and Helldivers movies could potentially compete against each other. However, The Hollywood Reporter emphasizes that Blomkamp’s film will not be a remake of Verhoeven’s but a fresh take on Heinlein's novel, which many interpret as promoting the very ideals Verhoeven's film satirized.

As of now, neither the new Starship Troopers nor the Helldivers movie has a set release date, indicating that fans may have to wait some time before seeing these projects come to life. Blomkamp's most recent directorial effort was Sony's Gran Turismo, an adaptation of the renowned PlayStation driving simulation series.