Neill Blomkamp regisseert RoboCop Returns

Deadline meldt dat sci-fi regisseur Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) de nieuwe RoboCop film zal regisseren voor MGM. De film draagt de titel RoboCop Returns! In tegenstelling tot de vorige RoboCop remake uit 2014, zal de nieuwe film een ​​direct vervolg zijn op het origineel op basis van een ongebruikt RoboCop 2 scenario van de originele schrijvers Ed Neumeier en Michael Miner enmet herschrijvingen door Justin Rhodes (Untitled Terminator Reboot, Masters of the Universe). Hier volgt een korte samenvatting van de synopsis voor RoboCop Returns: Anarchy reigns and the fate of Detroit hangs in the balance as RoboCop makes his triumphant return to fight crime and corruption. 

Blomkamp vertelde:

“The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid. 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. 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.”

Neumeier over waarom RoboCop 2 nooit tot stand kwam:

“Verhoeven felt at the time that making one would be de classe and he wasn’t interested in the politics of a sequel. Then, the writers strike came along in 1988 and we were force majeured off the project. They brought in Frank Miller on a waiver. He wrote a draft and then another with Walon Green, and it got made by Irvin Kershner, who directed ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ I went off and did ‘Starship Troopers’ with Paul. Right when Trump was about to be elected president, [MGM president Jon Glickman] called me and said, ‘Did you actually predict in your sequel script that a reality star would run for president and win?’ We had. So Mike and I wrote a draft and gave one interview in Barbados and I think the only person who read it was Neill Blomkamp, and that set this in motion.”

Paul Verhoeven‘s originele klassieker RoboCop uit 1987 zag in de hoofdrol Peter Weller als officier Alex Murphy, die op brute wijze wordt vermoord en uiteindelijk herrijst als de cyborg-misdaadjager. De film wist $53 miljoen op te halen aan de box officie en kreegdrie Oscar-nominaties. Weller keerde terug voor het vervolg RoboCop 2 uit 1990, geregisseerd door Irvin Kershner op basis van een scenario door Frank Miller. De film verdiende $45 miljoen en werd niet zo goed ontvangen. RoboCop 3 werd gemaakt in 1991, maar werd pas in 1993 uitgebracht vanwege het faillissement van Orion Pictures. De film van Fred Dekker wist slechts $10 miljoen op te halen. Een RoboCop remake werd in de jaren 2000 ontwikkeld door Darren Aronofsky, die het project uiteindelijk verliet en werd overgenomen door Jose Padilha.