Alien invasion movies traditionally involve enormous spaceships arriving above major American cities before somebody inevitably decides it’s time to blow up the White House. However, in 2009, a movie came along that threw a wild idea at us. What if the aliens arrived, didn’t conquer anybody, and instead became refugees imprisoned because we didn’t trust them and wanted to exploit them for their resources? That premise turned into one of the most acclaimed science-fiction movies of the 21st century, and it’s charting on streaming now.
District 9 is streaming on Netflix, bringing the Oscar-nominated sci-fi thriller to the platform’s current science-fiction lineup. The film plunges us into a world where aliens — derogatorily nicknamed “prawns” — have landed only to be exiled to a slum and a government-controlled camp on the fringes of Johannesburg.
But then, one lone human named Wikus van de Merwe discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology and, while being hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he soon understands what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet. And after being exposed to a mysterious substance, Wikus begins undergoing a horrifying transformation that suddenly makes him extremely valuable to the same organization he works for — dead or alive.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Stars in ‘District 9’?
District 9 stars Sharlto Copley (The A-Team) as Wikus van de Merwe, Jason Cope (Dredd) as Christopher Johnson/Grey Bradnam, David James (The Young Ones) as Koobus Venter, Vanessa Haywood (Blood Diamond) as Tania van de Merwe, Mandla Gaduka (Generations) as Fundiswa Mhlanga, Kenneth Nkosi (Tsotsi) as Thomas, Eugene Khumbanyiwa (Chappie) as Obesandjo, Louis Minnaar (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) as Piet Smit, William Allen Young (Code Black) as Dirk Michaels, and Nathalie Boltt (Riverdale) as Sarah Livingstone. The movie was directed by Neill Blomkamp (Elysium) from a screenplay he co-wrote with Terri Tatchell, with Peter Jackson serving as a producer.
The film cost approximately $30 million and earned $210.8 million worldwide — roughly 7x its production budget in theatrical grosses. That included about $115.6 million in North America and $95.2 million internationally. It was an even bigger critical success. District 9 earned four Academy Award nominations, including the extremely unusual achievement for a hard sci-fi movie of being nominated for Best Picture. It was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects.
