Twitter Blasts Vin Diesel’s Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots Movie as Real Steel Rip-Off

Nostalgia — and particularly, nostalgia for beloved action figure and toy franchises — has been pretty prevalent in Hollywood over the past few years, with a number of blockbuster films being developed by various studios. One of the latest to be announced was a live-action film based on the iconic toy Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, which is being developed by Universal and Mattel with Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel expected to produce and star. The film would follow “a father and son who form an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine.”

The very concept of the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie — coupled with that plot description — quickly caught the Internet’s attention, but probably not for the way the studio intended. Quickly after the news was announced, people on social media began to make comparisons to Real Steel, the 2011 Disney movie that starred Hugh Jackman which also followed a father and son duo who form an unlikely bond with a fighting robot. While Real Steel wasn’t directly based on the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em franchise — it was actually based on an episode from the original run of The Twilight Zone about robot prizefighting — the comparison definitely still stuck with fans.

Some took to Twitter to point out the similarities, or to bemoan the fact that there was never a proper Real Steel sequel. Here are just a few of those responses.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​