Michael Keaton Cast as Villain in ROBOCOP

Hey Michael Keaton's back! He's just been cast as the villain in Jose Padilha's Robocop remake. He will replace Hugh Laurie who was previously in negotiations to join the film before they broke down. Clive Owen was also reportedly on the studio's short list for the role, but it looks like Keaton won out.

Keaton is a great actor that I think should be working more than he is. He's fun to watch up on screen, and can do comedy, drama and action. It's good to see him cast in a big movie. They couldn't have made a better choice, and I've been waiting for him to make a come back. Padilha had this to say in a statement,

Michael is the final addition to the amazing cast we have assembled for this film and it is so great to have the last puzzle piece in place. It is thrilling that everything has come together to bring this innovative new vision of RoboCop to life. We’ve got a great script, a great cast, some killer ED-209s and I can’t wait to get Alex Murphy back on the streets.

The movie will retell the origin story of Robocop, in which The Killing's Joel Kinnaman stars as the badass cop who is violently gunned down, and turned into a robot crime fighter for justice. Keaton will play the villainous CEO of Omni Corp, who creates Robocop for his own gain.

The movie also stars Gary Oldman as the scientist who creates him, Abbie Cornish who plays his conflicted wife and Samuel L. Jackson who plays a patriotic media mogul. Jackie Earle Haley and Jay Baruchel are also in the film.

This may be a bad movie making experience for Padilha, but he's sure been able to assemble an awesome cast. It will be fun to see how this turns out. What do you think about Keaton being cast as the villain in Robocop?