Moving through the 2025 movie schedule, there are plenty of sci-fi titles that will bring us to worlds new and familiar. Of course, there are still other lands that fans look to see represented on the big screen again, as evidenced by the fact that Sony’s been trying since 2011 to reboot Starship Troopers. Yet another attempt is being mounted with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp at the helm, and in light of this announcement, I think a very special casting choice needs to be considered right upfront.
Neill Blomkamp Is Perfect For Sony’s Latest Starship Troopers Reboot
Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 original is both a biting satire, but also widely considered a movie so “cheesy” it’s awesome, and I don’t think anyone would be able to capture that genius before its time. Which is probably why it’s a good thing that Blomkamp’s gig as the writer/director behind this project is headed back to the source.
As the announcement made by THR cited, author Robert Heinlein’s 1959 novel was packed with other elements that, while present in the Verhoeven version, weren’t as fleshed out. Hiring the mind behind District 9 and Elysium to tell a tale where being a warfighter is required to be a true citizen is a choice feels ripe to freshly mine this material.
I’m sensing that Starship Troopers is about to be a much more serious project, eschewing screenwriter Edward Neumeier’s tongue-in-cheek jabs at fascism and nationalism for something more gritty and hard-hitting. That’s perfectly fine, as the 1997 variant that played things more colorfully can easily be streamed by anyone with a Prime Video subscription.
That being said, I think there’s one casting choice that could pay tribute to the past, while totally nailing a more dramatic future.
Casper Van Dien Needs To Come Back To Starship Troopers… As Michael Ironside’s Character
One of the themes in Starship Troopers is basically how the military-industrial complex loves to engage in endless warfare. It’s not a new theme, but with the right approach, it hits just as hard as it did in the old days.
With that in mind, and also considering veteran Roughneck Casper Van Dien’s affection for that original picture, I think it should be him to play the character of Jean Rasczak. The man who taught Johnny Rico and his buddies that, “everybody fights, no one quits,” Robert Heinlein’s own source text built in a finale callback to that character that echoes this sentiment.
I mean, I can’t be the only person who feels more than a little conflicted when watching the ending of 1997’s Starship Troopers, right? Try watching this clip and thinking that victory is on the verge:
Yeah, not even composer Basil Poledouris’ rousing score can totally override my sense of dread. So with a new Starship Troopers on the way, casting Casper Van Dien as Jean Rasczak extends that message by preserving it in a callback that only enhances the futility of war.
Wow, I did not expect to get that philosophical here. After all, there’s still a chance that much like Neill Blomkamp’s Robocop legacy-quel and his promising, but discarded Alien 5 pitch, this new spin of the wheel might not go all the way. I’m not trying to be negative, but rather I’m protecting my heart from potential disappointment.
If we’re going to go bug killing on Klendathu again, it had better be for the right reasons, and with a plan. Hiring the creative force that almost adapted Halo with Alex Garland and Peter Jackson’s assistance surely sounds like a proper step in that direction. But we’ll have to wait to learn more as this battle is so distant that the Mobile Infantry is waiting for “Reveille” to start the day.