It has been confirmed that Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9 and Elysium, will be directing RoboCop Returns for MGM.
Furthermore, original scripters Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner are producing and executive producing, respectively. Justin Rhodes will rewrite Neumeier and Miner’s original sequel script for Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic.
Talking to Deadline, Blomkamp stated:“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.”
Elaborating, Blomkamp said: “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.”
It is widely anticipated that this sequel will retain the violence of the 1987 which was watered down for the 2014 Jose Padilha-directed version that starred Joe Kinnaman.