After Announcing a Helldivers Movie, Sony Is Now Officially Rebooting Starship Troopers

Sony Pictures is developing a new film adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 science fiction novel, Starship Troopers. Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, is attached to write and direct. This project is a fresh adaptation of the source material, distinct from Paul Verhoeven's 1997 satirical film. The news was reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and Variety.

This development is noteworthy given Sony's concurrent live-action Helldivers project. Arrowhead Game Studios' Helldivers, a PlayStation Studios title, draws significant inspiration from Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, sharing similar themes of soldiers fighting alien insects within a militaristic society. While both films originate from Sony, Blomkamp's Starship Troopers aims for a faithful adaptation of Heinlein's novel, a stark contrast to Verhoeven's satirical interpretation. Heinlein's novel is often interpreted as promoting the very ideals that Verhoeven's film satirizes.

Neither the new Starship Troopers nor the Helldivers film has a confirmed release date. Blomkamp's most recent film was Sony's Gran Turismo, another adaptation of a PlayStation property.