District 9 director Neill Blomkamp to direct new Aliens film

District 9 filmmaker Neill Blomkamp has just signed on to direct the next Alien film. The South African sci-fi director, whose latest film Chappie comes out next month, confirmed that his involvement today with an Instagram post that said: "Um... So I think it's officially my next film. #alien".

Blomkamp's announcement is proof that being an Instagram fanboy really does pay off. He's been posting Alien concept art on his profile for months, including character sketches of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and alien spaceships. He even had his own sculpture of a xenomorph on his desk. At the time, he described it as a "mental stroll into the world Ridley Scott created".

An obvious fan of the legendary series, Blomkamp’s as-yet-untitled project will be separate from the forthcoming Prometheus 2, the franchise’s sixth installment. Which is good, because nobody actually seemed to understand what was going on in the first Prometheus.

Chappie hits cinemas on March 8 and features Zef star Yo-Landi Visser. You can see the Die Antwoord frontwoman on the cover of Dazed's spring issue, which hits newsstands today. Keep an eye out on the site in the next few weeks – we'll be featuring an exclusive interview with Neill Blomkamp himself.