South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp might finally have his so long craved incursion in one of the classic horror and science-fiction sagas from the last century. He spent some of the recent years working on that sequel for Aliens (1986), where he planned to bring back to life Ripley and Corporal Hicks with their original actors Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn, only to see the project falling into oblivion so Ridley Scott can pursue his exploitation of the Xenomorph with his new saga started with Prometheus (2012). But now, a nice plot twist of events has happened, and the chance to direct a sequel for RoboCop (1987) has landed on his hands.
Original RoboCop (1987) writer Edward Neumeier has been working already for a while on the script for a follow up of the movie directed by Paul Verhoeven. Allegedly, since that information saw the light, it was known that this new RoboCop entry wouldn’t be either a reboot nor a follow-up for the last entry of the movies saga in continuity RoboCop 3 (1993), but it would be a direct sequel of the first RoboCop (1987). That means it would also avoid the remake directed by José Padilha that appeared a few years ago, RoboCop (2014), and, personally, I think that is good news. Because that washed out version Rated PG-13 felt more like a punishment, like an insult to the original movie, than a worth title to wear the RoboCop name.
To be honest, I think it would be a mistake to expect the high doses of violence, cruelty, dirtiness and gore original RoboCop (1987) displayed. Times have changed, and Neill Blomkamp sure is not Paul Verhoeven. His movies are nice-hearted science-fiction stories, with more or less a social message behind, but they won’t outstand for the violence sequences. District 9 (2009) might have its bloody moments, but Elysium (2013) and, especially, Chappie (2015) definitely mark a different path. Still, if Edward Neumeier has written the script (we shouldn’t forget his is also the text for Starship Troopers (1997), another Verhoeven blood and guts extravaganza), the hope to see the dirty and cruel essence of RoboCop (1987) kept doesn’t sound so much like a fantasy dream.
MGM is producing this movie, which right now is been named RoboCop Returns. Justin Rhodes, who is the author of the screenplays of upcoming reboots for The Terminator and Masters Of The Universe expected to hit theaters in 2019, is working on a final version of Edward Neumeier’s script. And now, time for speculation. Who will play Alex Murphy / RoboCop in the new movie? Because original actor Peter Weller is over 70 years old, and I don’t think it would be a wise choice to use Joel Kinnaman, who played the cyborg police officer in the recent remake. And also, will Sharlto Copley, present in all the Neill Blomkamp movies to date, have a role?
In a conversation with Deadline, director Neill Blomkamp stated: “The original [RoboCop (1987)] 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. […] 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”.
