Dev Patel is in ''early talks'' to star in Neill Blomkamp's next movie, 'Chappie'.

The 'Slumdog Millionaire' actor is close to landing the lead role in the sci-fi thriller, which will be the director's next project after his eagerly anticipated Matt Damon-starring flick, 'Elysium', according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Details about the new film are being shrouded in secrecy, but it's thought the futuristic movie - which is based on a short film Blomkamp made in 2004, titled 'Tetra Vaal' - will take place in the slums of South Africa, where robotic police officers patrol the area.

Patel is up for the lead human role, playing an impoverished young man in the city, while regular Blomkamp collaborator Sharlto Copley - who has appeared in 'District 9' and 'Elysium' - will play one of the police robots.

Blomkamp wrote the script for the film and along with Terri Tatchell.

'Chappie will be financed by Media Rights Capital, who also backed his upcoming film 'Elysium'.

The Matt Damon-led movie, which is also a sci-fi thriller, is set in 2154 and centres on the wealth divide between a ravaged planet Earth, which has been stricken by poverty and disease, and a fictional utopian metropolis called Elysium, which is home to the wealthiest members of the human population.

'Elysium' is out next month.