District 9 director gets Steam-y: trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi shorts unveiled

Neill Blomkamp may not be making his proposed Aliens sequel as we'd all hoped, but if this first trailer for the District 9 director's upcoming short film project is anything to go by, certain elements from that film will surely end up in front of our eyes. 

Dubbed Oat Studios Volume 1, the project aims to distribute an experimental series of short science fiction films to fans via online streaming and is currently eyeing different distribution methods.

According to comments made by Blomkamp on his Twitter account, the director has been toying with the idea of distributing the shorts via Steam, though has since stated that Volume 1 "could be entirely free," with YouTube used as a platform. 

Steamin' and streamin'

When asked about his plans for making money on the venture, Blomkamp tweeted that fans could "hopefully pay for Volume 2" or perhaps "go to theatres to see [a] feature adapted from one of the shorter films."

Still, it's clear that Blomkamp is keen on using Valve's distribution platform in one way or another, with the director tweeting that "extras like 3D models/Vfx assets/concept art/all the raw footage/all music etc," could end up on Steam "for a nominal price."

If you'd like to keep up to date with Neill Blomkamp's short film project, you can subscribe to a mailing list at the official Oat Studios website

Check out the trailer for Oat Studios Volume 1 below. If you look closely, you'll notice Sigourney Weaver makes an appearance, as does Dakota Fanning, looking a lot like a grown-up version of Newt from Aliens, if you ask us...

Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment

Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible. 


He's also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.