Neill Blomkamp must be doing something right. After making a huge splash with the sci-fi flick District 9 in 2009, he got the go-ahead from Sony to make the futuristic common man versus high society Elysium. That film, which had a reported budget of $115 million, opened last weekend and has earned $44 million at this point. It’s not exactly a ringing success, but Sony seems to have faith in both the film’s eventual success and Blomkamp’s original sci-fi stories because the studio agreed to co-finance his next project, Chappie, along with MRC.

“Chappie tells the story of a robot imbued with artificial intelligence who is stolen by two local gangsters who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes,” the press release states. Regular collaborator Sharlto Copley (District 9, Elysium) will offer his voice for the title robot while South African hip hop duo Die Antwoord — also known as Ninja and Yolandi Visser — will play the thieves. Blompkamp will direct the film based off a script he co-write with District 9 co-screenwriter Terri Tatchell.

For the full press release, head on over to Collider.