District 9 2009

In a stunning display of celestial intervention, a gargantuan extraterrestrial spacecraft materialized above Johannesburg in 1982, hovering ominously over the South African city. For three months, the massive vessel remained sealed, its doors refusing to yield to human curiosity. Finally, a team of intrepid investigators (including Sarah Livingstone, a sociologist at Kempton Park University) managed to breach the entrance, revealing an astonishing one million malnourished aliens - derogatorily dubbed “Prawns” - huddled inside. As the South African government hastily relocated these extraterrestrial entities to District 9, a terrestrial camp intended to be temporary, it swiftly devolved into a squalid slum.

As years passed, local resentment toward the alien inhabitants grew, fueled by perceptions that they were filthy, ignorant lawbreakers bleeding resources from humanity. Michael Bloemstein, an MNU Department of Alien Civil Affairs expert, acknowledged that the aliens’ presence was permanent, with no clear plan in sight to rectify the situation. Meanwhile, Dirk Michaels, CEO of the Multinational United (MNU), a behemoth weapons manufacturer, seemed driven by a singular goal: relocating the “Prawns” to a new camp outside Johannesburg.

Two decades since their arrival, tensions between the aliens and locals had reached a boiling point. Nigerians, in particular, were notorious for running various scams within District 9, including peddling cat food to the extraterrestrial inhabitants, facilitating cross-species prostitution, and hoarding alien weapons - all masterminded by the cunning Obesandjo. Amidst these tumultuous circumstances, MNU appointed Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a mild-mannered bureaucrat at the Department of Alien Affairs, to oversee the relocation efforts.

As the “prawns” resisted their forced removal, rumors swirled that MNU’s true intention was to acquire alien weapons, bio-engineered to be operational only with the aliens’ DNA. The Nigerians, possessing a vast cache of these coveted arms, had been secretly stockpiling them for two decades - a stash they could neither utilize nor relinquish. Obesandjo, driven by a warped ambition, believed that consuming his extraterrestrial captives would grant him the power to wield these forbidden weapons.

As the clock strikes relocation day, Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope), his young son CJ, and their friend Paul embark on a perilous quest to uncover alien fuel hidden within the labyrinthine depths of District 9’s garbage dump. This clandestine operation has been twenty years in the making, with Christopher having painstakingly synthesized Prawn technology to bring their plan to fruition.

Meanwhile, Wikus (played by Sharlto Copley) is summoned to serve Paul a notice at his humble abode as the relocation process commences. However, upon discovering the hidden container of fuel, Wikus inadvertently exposes himself to its potent properties while confiscating it. This fateful mistake sets in motion a chain reaction that would change the course of his life forever.

Tragedy strikes when Koobus Venter (David James), a ruthless mercenary leader, takes pleasure in killing Paul and brutally dispatches him with reckless abandon. As Wikus begins to exhibit symptoms of the alien fuel’s transformative effects – his left arm mutates into an eerie prawn-like appendage, and he experiences vomiting, nosebleeds, and tooth loss – he attempts to downplay his condition.

Desperate to conceal his true nature from the world, Wikus is taken to a hospital where his deteriorating state becomes alarmingly apparent. The revelation of his left hand’s metamorphosis into a prawn claw sends shockwaves through the medical community, leading to his transfer to the MNU lab for further examination.

Researchers subject Wikus to inhumane experiments, only to discover that his chimeric DNA grants him an extraordinary ability – he can operate Prawn weaponry, a biologically restricted technology inaccessible to humans. Smit, determined to capitalize on this anomaly, orders Wikus’s vivisection and harvesting of his profitable properties.

In a stunning turn of events, Wikus overpowers the lab personnel and makes a daring escape as Koobus Venter’s forces relentlessly hunt him down. As the smear campaign spreads like wildfire across television screens, Tania (Vanessa Haywood), Wikus’s wife and Smit’s daughter, is left reeling from the false accusations portraying her husband as a wanted fugitive who has contracted a contagious disease through his alleged dalliances with aliens.

As Wikus seeks refuge in the sprawling metropolis of District 9, he stumbles upon an unexpected sanctuary - a concealed command module hidden beneath his humble abode. Within this alien lair, Wikus encounters Christopher, who reveals that the stolen fuel is crucial to their plan to reactivate the ancient mothership and restore Wikus’s humanity. With time running out, Wikus turns to the cunning Nigerian arms dealer Obesandjo (Eugene Wanangwa Khumbanyiwa), but instead of weapons, he secures a cache of extraterrestrial firepower. Seizing the initiative, Wikus and Christopher force their way into the MNU lab, only to discover the horrific extent of humanity’s mistreatment of the alien population.

Enraged by what he sees, including the mutilated remains of Paul, Christopher implores Wikus to return home with haste, emphasizing that his own people must be informed about the atrocities committed in the name of human progress. However, Wikus’s desperation gets the better of him, and he attempts to pilot the drop-ship module to the mothership solo, only to have it shot down by Koobus Venter’s forces. Captured and left for dead, Wikus is rescued by Obesandjo’s gang, who are subsequently decimated by a mechanized alien battle suit remotely activated by CJ.

As chaos erupts, Wikus finds himself face-to-face with Venter once more, but this time, he is clad in the imposing mech suit. With Christopher safe on board the drop-ship, Wikus valiantly holds off the mercenaries, sacrificing his own well-being to give his friend a chance to escape. Though ultimately defeated and left for dead, Venter meets a gruesome end at the hands of the slum aliens. As the dust settles, Christopher makes his way back to the drop-ship, where he reunites with CJ, and together they soar into the skies aboard their ancient mothership, leaving the ravaged planet behind.

As the dust settles on the intergalactic conflict, humanity’s collective psyche becomes fixated on the tantalizing possibility of Christopher’s return. Will he bring with him an armada to reclaim the remaining extraterrestrial inhabitants, or will he unleash a full-scale assault on our planet? Meanwhile, the clandestine experiments conducted by MNU on their captive alien population are brutally exposed, prompting the transfer of these beings to a newly established camp, aptly named District 10. Amidst this turmoil, a glimmer of hope arrives for Tania in the form of a metal flower left discreetly at her doorstep - a poignant reminder that Wikus (Sharlto Copley) may yet be alive, despite his now complete transformation into an otherworldly being. The narrative takes a haunting turn as we glimpse the fully-transformed Wikus, now a master craftsman, busy in a junkyard workshop meticulously fashioning the very same metal flower for his wife, a poignant testament to the enduring power of love and humanity amidst the chaos.