Earlier this week, Neill Blomkamp waltzed into the Nerdist offices with a bizarre alien weapon and a left arm that looked curiously prawn-like, and demanded the password to our Instagram account. He had the whole Oats Studios crew, a bunch of crazy guns, and a box that shoots CGI fire. We had breakfast burritos. So naturally, we complied.

So here’s a look at everything those delightful renegades posted!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWc9joUnbl2/?taken-by=nerdist

First up was a teaser trailer for their latest short film, Zygote, which premiered this week, followed by a chilly snapshot of Blomkamp with co-writer Thomas Sweterlitsch on set. The new short stars Dakota Fanning as a soldier battling a grotesque (or adorable?) being.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWcxZ2CHSV1/?taken-by=nerdist

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWdQBr4nris/?taken-by=nerdist

Next up, (what else?) one of the many, many guns on hand at Oats Studios. This beauty was designed by Blomkamp himself and looks more futuristic than alien. Looks a bit like a modified SIG Sauer with a built-in ring to hang your keys or a Christmas Ornament or the ears of your enemies.

Then we got a brief glimpse behind the scenes with a view from the video village showing an ominous corridor that’s waiting to be filled by a many-limbed beastie and a clatter of gunfire…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWde78cnput/?taken-by=nerdist

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWdolB7HUUc/?taken-by=nerdist

…from this hefty piece of equipment. Like a gun that could hold smaller guns inside of it. Blomkamp shows it off and gives it a test run.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWd23HWHmmb/?taken-by=nerdist

We also got a small peak inside the madness factory. The Oats team works out of a Vancouver warehouse they’ve converted into an assembly line that has all the tools and whistles necessary to make a slew of experimental shorts. Not pictured: the editing and VFX bays.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWeFDO_HdYe/?taken-by=nerdist

On the other side of the planet, Blomkamp snapped a selfie in a Thai prison where they were filming. He also shared a pic from the rooftops of Thailand with a vanilla sky curiously devoid of any floating spaceships.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWeSgHOnE2E/?taken-by=nerdist

Naturally, the end of Oats’ piracy of our Instagram feed ended with a little explanation about who they are and what they’re trying to do. For a start, they’re trying to bypass the studio system in order to bring a lot of strange stuff directly to fans. But we’ll let them explain more:

Thanks to @neillblomkamp and his team @oatsstudios for taking over Nerdist's Instagram yesterday! Here's a peek inside their new project: pic.twitter.com/x7NtoaPBOq

— Nerdist (@nerdist) July 13, 2017

What do you think? Should we have given up the Instagram feed so easily?

Images: Oats Studios