New photo of Matt Damon in Neil Blomkamp's Elysium suggests the future will have big guns, baldness

By Sean O'Neal | July 5, 2012 | 5:09pm

Aux Features Film

After being shrouded in secrecy pretty much since it was first announced, details are beginning to emerge on Neil Blomkamp's Elysium before its upcoming Comic-Con panel, revealing just how politically charged the District 9 director's next politically charged sci-fi project will be. As it turns out, very politically charged and pretty damn sci-fi: According to the official synopsis, Damon stars as a man named Max who becomes caught up in a class war in the year 2159, waged between the wealthy inhabitants of the luxury space station Elysium and those left behind on a ravaged, overpopulated Earth. While the underprivileged wreak havoc while trying to circumvent the anti-immigration laws laid down by Jodie Foster's unyielding government official, it's up to Damon to bring equality to both worlds, undertaking a "daunting mission" that probably goes beyond just writing a folk-punk song that makes Jodie Foster feel bad.

Anyway, not too much is known specifically about Damon's character yet, other than what you see in the above, Entertainment Weekly-provided promo shot: He's bald (just like everyone will be in the future) and wielding a giant "ChemRail" gun that likely dispenses a particularly nasty immigrant deterrent, and requires the assistance of some sort of Erector Set robot arm thing. And from the expression on Damon's face, you can see the toll being taken by his character's internal conflict over the thorny issue of immigration. Or maybe Matt Damon just asked Bruce Willis for tips on portraying a harried action hero, and Willis was like, "Here, come to my seminar on 'Acting With Your Forehead.'" And Damon was like, "What good will that do for my career?" And Willis replied, "It'll help you make headlines." Then everybody laughed and had a money fight.