A new incarnation of RoboCop was announced last year from director Neill Blomkamp in the form of RoboCop Returns. The new film will be based on a script written by original RoboCop writers Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, with Blomkamp and Justin Rhodes offering a new take on that sequel treatment. Neumeier, who will be a producer on the new film, recently offered details about the progress of the new film.
“We talked about it a couple of years back and I reminded [MGM] that we had written a very rough sequel back in 1988 which then was stopped by the writer’s strike, the same year,” Neumeier shared with HN Entertainment. “And they looked at it and they said ‘Oh, good!’, so we did some more work on that and then Neill Blomkamp found out about it and he said, ‘I have always wanted to do this, this is my dream project’ and MGM was very very pleased to get into business with him.”
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The original 1987 film became a massive success, leading to multiple sequels and TV series. The mainstream popularity of the premise ultimately deviated from the gritty and violent themes of the original, which Blomkamp reportedly aims to recreate.
“Neill Blomkamp and his screenwriter Justin Rhodes have done a pass on the script we were writing on and they’re doing another one. It is a slightly different concept in some ways than we were originally doing,” the producer shared. “I don’t want to talk too much about it or somebody will call me and tell me to shut up, but we’re hopeful and I think Neill really really wants to make a good RoboCop movie. His idea is that it should be the proper Verhoeven… if Verhoeven had directed a movie right after RoboCop… I think that’s what he is trying to achieve and I hope he does. We’ll see what happens next.”
Another big question that fans have about the film is whether original star Peter Weller will return in any capacity. Neumeier detailed that, were it up to him and the other powers that be, Weller would absolutely make a return.
“As you know from the press that Neill Blomkamp wants to bring back Peter Weller back and what you get when you do that if you use the DNA of the old property in the new is that you get something that shares continuity and fans can embrace the brand,” the producer noted. “It’s not too different and what you realize is that when I was sitting and writing 30 years later, rewriting, the second draft of our sequel to RoboCop, which was called The Corporate Wars at the time and is now called RoboCop Returns. I kept hearing Peter’s voice, you know, Peter adds a lot to that.”
Last fall, however, one report claimed Weller wasn’t interested in the project, so it’s unclear if that is still the case.
Stay tuned for details on RoboCop Returns.
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