Robocop (Neil Blomkamp To Direct)

[Dominic Brehetto]

EXCLUSIVE: MGM is developing a new installment of RoboCop and has set District 9 director Neill Blomkamp to helm the picture, which is titled RoboCop Returns. The studio hopes to revive a franchise that began with the Paul Verhoeven-directed satirical sci-fi action thriller that Orion released in 1987. Original writers Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner are producing and exec producing, respectively. Justin Rhodes, who co-wrote the Terminator film that Tim Miller is shooting, will rewrite the script that Neumeier and Miner wrote years ago as a planned sequel to Verhoeven’s hit, an installment that never happened. That duo is creatively involved in moving forward their creation for the first time since the original.

“The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid,” Blomkamp told Deadline. “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.”

Why wasn’t this sequel story told years ago?

Neumeier and Miner sold the original as a spec script and Orion’s Mike Medavoy, emboldened by the success of Platoon, got heavily behind it. Neumeier and Miner got paid a paltry sum upfront, but eight points of producer profits fattened their wallets. The inspiration was classic Westerns with leading man of few words, namely John Wayne in The Searchers and Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. “There were four or five things RoboCop couldn’t do, including no talking on the phone, no kissing the girl, and he couldn’t fly and would be limited to four or five signature phrases,” Miner recalled. “Ed and I became zen like in writing that dialogue, which had to be like sharp spears that punch you, in dialogue form. We would labor a whole day over one line. When you recall the way Ethan (Wayne) spike in The Searchers, or Clint in Dirty Harry, they were like zen poems in an action culture.”

The original grossed over $50 million and got three Oscar noms including a win for Best Sound Effects Editing. Despite this, and even though Neumeier and Miner had written a worthy followup in the spirit of the original, their sequel didn’t happen for several reasons.

“Verhoeven felt at the time that making one would be de classe and he wasn’t interested in the politics of a sequel, “Neumeier told Deadline. “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 Startship Troopers with Paul.”

It came back around when he got a call from MGM president Jon Glickman, tasked with creating franchise material for that studio. “Right when Trump was about to be elected president he 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.”





Neill Blomkamp To Direct New ‘RoboCop’ For MGM; Justin Rhodes Rewriting Sequel Script By Creators Ed Neumeier & Michael Miner

 

[jwinfield]

Didn't they just do this

 

[Dominic Brehetto]

Didn't they just do this

Not a reboot,it’s a direct sequel to the originals.

 

[Ironman]

A sequel to the OG films??

 

[Mortal1]

Interesting how Terminator and this are getting new iterations so quickly and there trying to go back to the tone and content of the originals. I’m hoping this can be dope because the OG Robocop is one of my favorite films of all time.

 

[Monoblock]

Wait what? Sequel for the OG or the remake? I swear if this one is set in South Africa with dusty streets and an out of control population problem like all of his other movies...who am I kidding I'd still watch it but I'd prefer a sequel to District 9 damnit. Wikus still a damn prawn and Chris promised he'd come back for him.

 

[Dwolf]

These people never learn

 

[Brandeezy]

So this the movie him and Chris Evans were working on?

 

[ChuckTaylor84]

Hopefully its as dark as the original

 

[Ironman]

Wait what? Sequel for the OG or the remake? I swear if this one is set in South Africa with dusty streets and an out of control population problem like all of his other movies...who am I kidding I'd still watch it.

Neil wants it back in detroit it's a direct sequel to the 87 film. He loves the og one and wants it back like that in a way with a message

 

[Monoblock]

Neil wants it back in detroit it's a direct sequel to the 87 film. He loves the og one and wants it back like that in a way with a message

If anyone can pull it off its him. He really loves the original and he has an eye for violence like Verhoeven

 

[MartyMcFly]

Ed Neumeir mentioned this back in January. Said he was working on a direct sequel but other than that he wouldn’t say much. I thought Verhooven would be back to direct but I guess he still has no interest in going back to the well. Blomkamp is the right guy for it. Not for the violence but for the satire. District 9 and Elysium are all metaphors for other things and satirizing something to a degree. And with the two original writers on board as creative directors, it should maintain the humor level of the first.

But robocop is very 80s. It’s whole thing is making fun of the regan era so I’ll be curious to see what insights they can have about now that we haven’t already seen elsewhere and can it be as potent now as it was 30 years ago.

 

[SunZoo]

I think I'm the only person that actually kinda dug the remake. I was able to enjoy it without comparing it to the OG.

 

[bnew]

FORGET Robocop! Where's the District 9 sequel?

 

[Dominic Brehetto]

Ed Neumeir mentioned this back in January. Said he was working on a direct sequel but other than that he wouldn’t say much. I thought Verhooven would be back to direct but I guess he still has no interest in going back to the well. Blink amp is the right guy for it. Not for the violence but for the satire. District 9 and Elysian are all metaphors for other things and satirizing something to a degree. And with the two original writers on board as creative directors, it should maintain the humor level of the first.

But robocop is very 80s. It’s whole thing is making fun of the regan era so I’ll be curious to see what insights they can have about now that we haven’t already seen elsewhere and can it be as potent now as it was 30 years ago.

:poohwhat: