After having his Alien movie shelved in 2015, director Neill Blomkamp has now been linked to helming a new RoboCop film currently in development by MGM.
As Deadline reports, the studio is looking to revive the franchise with the forthcoming film, titled RoboCop Returns. Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner — the writers from the original 1987 movie — have been named as producer and executive producer, respectively.
Deadline also notes that Justin Rhodes will rewrite the script that Neumeier and Miner penned years ago as a planned sequel to the 1987 film. Rhodes also co-wrote Tim Miller's forthcoming Terminator reboot.
"The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid," Blomkamp told the site. "I loved it then and it remains a classic in the end of 20th Century sci-fi catalog, with real meaning under the surface. Hopefully that is something we can get closer to in making of a sequel. That is my goal here."
Blomkamp expanded on his thoughts for the sequel to Deadline as follows:
What I connected to as a kid has evolved over time. At first, the consumerism, materialism and Reaganomics, that '80s theme of America on steroids, came through most strongly. But As I've gotten older, the part that really resonated with me is identity, and the search for identity. As long as the human component is there, a good story can work in any time period, it's not locked into a specific place in history. What's so cool about RoboCop is that like good Westerns, sci-fi films and dramas, the human connection is really important to a story well told. What draws me now is someone searching for their lost identity, taken away at the hands of people who are benefiting from it, and seeing his memory jogged by events. That is most captivating. The other thing I am excited by is the chance to work again with Justin Rhodes. He has added elements that are pretty awesome, to a sequel that was set in the world of Verhoeven. This is a movie I would love to watch.
MGM revived the RoboCop concept for a Jose Padilha-directed film in 2014. That title grossed $240 million worldwide.
The original 1987 RoboCop starred Peter Weller as a badly wounded police officer who is turned into a cyborg law enforcement officer, tasked with fighting crime and corruption in Detroit.
As Deadline reports, the studio is looking to revive the franchise with the forthcoming film, titled RoboCop Returns. Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner — the writers from the original 1987 movie — have been named as producer and executive producer, respectively.
Deadline also notes that Justin Rhodes will rewrite the script that Neumeier and Miner penned years ago as a planned sequel to the 1987 film. Rhodes also co-wrote Tim Miller's forthcoming Terminator reboot.
"The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid," Blomkamp told the site. "I loved it then and it remains a classic in the end of 20th Century sci-fi catalog, with real meaning under the surface. Hopefully that is something we can get closer to in making of a sequel. That is my goal here."
Blomkamp expanded on his thoughts for the sequel to Deadline as follows:
What I connected to as a kid has evolved over time. At first, the consumerism, materialism and Reaganomics, that '80s theme of America on steroids, came through most strongly. But As I've gotten older, the part that really resonated with me is identity, and the search for identity. As long as the human component is there, a good story can work in any time period, it's not locked into a specific place in history. What's so cool about RoboCop is that like good Westerns, sci-fi films and dramas, the human connection is really important to a story well told. What draws me now is someone searching for their lost identity, taken away at the hands of people who are benefiting from it, and seeing his memory jogged by events. That is most captivating. The other thing I am excited by is the chance to work again with Justin Rhodes. He has added elements that are pretty awesome, to a sequel that was set in the world of Verhoeven. This is a movie I would love to watch.
MGM revived the RoboCop concept for a Jose Padilha-directed film in 2014. That title grossed $240 million worldwide.
The original 1987 RoboCop starred Peter Weller as a badly wounded police officer who is turned into a cyborg law enforcement officer, tasked with fighting crime and corruption in Detroit.
