Hugh Jackman Cast in Neill Blomkamp's 'Chappie'

Here's the irony of Neill Blomkamp's Elyisum: even with a couple of high-wattage stars like Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, it failed to best District 9 domestically at the box office. Instead, most of its damage was done overseas, whereas District 9 was the opposite, and it featured no recognizable American faces. Blomkamp's third sci-fi film, Chappie, has Sharlto Copley in the title role, along with Dev Patel and Die Antwood's Ninja and Yolandi Visser supporting, but now you can add one major name with Hugh Jackman joining the cast.

Based on Blomkamp's 2004 short film, Tetra Vaal, the film centers on an intelligent police robot stolen by a couple of gangsters who plan to use him for criminal purposes. Jackman revealed the news of his role to Screen Daily without giving any insight into his character...

Jackman: "But I am doing a role in Neill's new film, called 'Chappie,' which we shoot in Johannesburg. I'm there for a couple of weeks at the beginning of next year."

Bleeding Cool say they have the inside scoop on Jackman's role, though, saying he plays "a CEO who ends up on the wrong side of the gangsters." 

The gangsters will be played by Yolanda and Ninja Visser, with Copley voicing Chappie and Dev Patel's role not really certain yet. Even if Jackman's role turns out to be smallish, he'll go a long way in getting Blomkamp some attention. Look for the film to surface on March 27th 2015.