Though Neill Blomkamp's 'Elysium' has yet to hit theaters, he's already hard at work on his follow-up, 'Chappie.' Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley has already joined the cast, but now Dev Patel is in talks to play the film's lead.

This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, and Patel is probably best known for his starring role in the Best Picture winner 'Slumdog Millionaire,' though he's also appeared in 'The Last Airbender' and is currently on HBO's 'The Newsroom.' Little is known about the film's plot, but he would be playing the film's lead, who's a young man living in an impoverished town that is supervised by robot cops (one of which will be played by Copley).

The film will be based partly on a short Blomkamp made called 'Tetra Vaal,' which doesn't have much of a plot, but did showcase his talents with mixing computer graphics and practical locations (which you can watch below). Blomkamp wrote 'Chappie' with Terri Tatchell, who was his co-writer on 'District 9.'

Though we're still a little more than a month out, we're hoping that 'Elysium' is one of the better movies this summer, and after 'District 9,' we're curious what Blomkamp does with a bigger budget. Hopefully 'Elysium' delivers when it hits theaters August 9, as it may impact whether or not 'Chappie' gets made. Here's 'Tetra Vaal':

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