Director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) reports that he's just about finished up on Elysium and is starting to move forward with his third feature, a sci-fi comedy titled Chappie.  Starring Matt Damon (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Jodie Foster (Contact), Elysium takes place in a dystopian future where the elite of humanity have fled to orbiting space stations while the poor are left to eke out an existence on a ruined Earth.  Look for the film starting August 9th.

In the meantime, Blomkamp is prepping a return to Johannesburg for principal photography on Chappie, which he co-wrote with his wife, Teri Tatchell.  Hit the jump for more on both projects. 

The Province reports (via The Playlist) that Blomkamp is nearly done with post-production on Elysium although the film will sit on shelves until August.  Here's what Blomkamp said in an email about the picture:

“It’s kind of weird that it sits on a shelf and doesn’t come out until August 9th but I think a summer release is fantastic for the film...Elysium is basically done at the end of February.  I have some straggling VFX shots that go into April but it’s almost done. The stuff looks absolutely amazing.”

As for Chappie, the last we heard about the sci-fi comedy was during Comic-Con 2012, so it's nice to see that things are progressing.  Blomkamp will shoot Chappie in Johannesburg and then return to Vancouver for post-production and to apply his signature visual effects magic.  That's all we know for now, but at least we can look forward to hearing more about Elysium in the months leading up to its summer release.

Here’s the official synopsis for Elysium:

In the year 2159 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard-line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max (Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.