We finally have the final word on director Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9) involvement with the STX Entertainment project Greenland that has been plagued with multiple delays and some casting/scheduling issues.

TheHollywoodReporter has revealed the studio has officially replaced Neill with Angel Has Fallen director Ric Roman Waugh along with Gerard Butler in the role originally meant for Captain America/Avengers actor Chris Evans. In the report, there is zero mention of why Blomkamp was replaced or what he’ll be doing instead of Greenland.

They add that filming on Greenland will begin this May in Toronto, a location that I had previously reported over at OmegaUnderground.

Sounds like a bit of a downgrade if you ask me.

I’m not sure Neill is going to be terribly sad about this development as he has been working with Orion Pictures and MGM Studios on his dream project, a direct sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop titled RoboCop Returns which he is currently developing with Terminator screenwriter Justin Rhodes based on an earlier draft from co-creators Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner.

We recently posted some exclusive updates and details about RoboCop Returns from Ed Neumeier during HN Entertainment’s interview with him from last month.

Just yesterday, IGN posted an interview with James Cameron mention where he mentioned he was “working on” calling Blomkamp about Alien 5. A project at 20th Century Fox that would have acted as a direct sequel to Cameron’s Aliens as it would bring back Ellen Ripley, Hick, and an adult Newt.

I’m sure Neill Blomkamp will announce what he’s doing next very soon.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER