District 9 Director Neill Blomkamp Faces Backlash Over AI-Generated Zombie Short Film

Famed sci-fi manager Neill Blomkamp is facing backlash aft unleashing his archetypal afloat trial movie made with AI.

Blomkamp, champion known for works similar District 9, Chappie, and Elysium, published the thirteen-minute-long abbreviated movie to YouTube connected July 19, and responses person been brutal.

The proof-of-concept follows a U.S. Army aviator who gets grievously injured aft her craft is changeable down during a tract ngo successful Syria. As portion of the shadowy ‘Nightborne’ program, a ‘control implant’ is inserted successful her brainstem that fundamentally turns her into a mindless zombie acting connected orders of the U.S. government.

This marks the inaugural merchandise of Barley Studios, an AI-focused movie workplace founded by Blomkamp, who says the abbreviated was afloat generated successful Seedance 2.0 and directed by him done prompts. As per the video’s description, 32 existent radical provided the voices and faces for the characters therein nether likeness agreements. Concept creation for the project, however, was provided by quality artists.

Nightborn is acceptable successful the satellite of Peter Watts' 2014 caller Echopraxia, which features each mode of science-fiction fare similar alien life, vampires, and of course, zombies. While Watts has yet to connection a nationalist remark connected Blomkamp’s latest adaptation of his work, the net has spoken — and made its stance highly clear.

Comments crossed societal media are blasting the trial film, poking amusive astatine the dialog (we couldn’t assistance but laughter astatine "Oh s**t, well, I deliberation she’s going to marque it, truthful that’s good"), assorted ocular inaccuracies, and jarring camerawork.

“No convey you. What a brainsick autumn from grace for specified a beloved filmmaker,” 1 wrote connected YouTube.

“Wow Neill, convey you for showing america that adjacent successful the hands of an established director, AI slop looks indistinguishable from everyone else's AI slop!” different said connected X/Twitter.

“Bro, we conscionable wanted District 10,” different said.

Blomkamp has yet to respond to the outrage surrounding his latest project, but offered much penetration into Nightborne connected his idiosyncratic Instagram account.

“I’ve been experimenting with AI for a mates of years, and it’s present astatine the constituent wherever I privation to tackle a afloat diagnostic successful this format,” helium explained. “Barley Studios volition beryllium my caller AI workplace for creating my ain films, the mode Oats Studios was for accepted movie and VFX.”

It's worthy noting that, portion Watts hasn't spoken retired pursuing the merchandise of Nightborne, helium did notation moving with Blomkamp backmost successful 2025, telling Forbes that helium and Blomkamp had a "long and tortured history" with adapting his publication Blindisight (a prequel to Echopraxia). And with this latest proof-of-concept, it's looking adjacent much tortured than ever.

Unfortunately for hopeful fans, Blomkamp isn’t definite if District 10 volition really happen, contempt confirming that helium was penning a publication for the sequel movie successful 2021. In August 2023, the manager admitted that the aboriginal of the movie is uncertain, saying, “I don’t cognize if I adjacent privation to marque that close now, but astatine immoderate constituent down the line, it’ll astir apt get made.”

This is the latest AI movie making waves online aft Odysseus: The Fall, an AI-generated movie retelling the Odyssey, sparked akin reactions from audiences, particularly successful comparisons to Nolan’s lauded movie adaptation of the aforesaid root worldly that blew the apical disconnected the container bureau connected opening weekend.

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With 10 years of acquisition reporting connected games and entertainment, she’s got a storied inheritance successful the warring crippled community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her connected Twitter astatine @TheeMissGlaze.