Neill Blomkamp is Set to Direct ROBOCOP RETURNS, Based on a Script Written Years Ago

Some big movie news has just hit saying that there's a new RoboCop movie in development at MGM called RoboCop Returns and District 9 director Neil Blomkamp is set to helm it! The news comes from Deadline, and the studio is hoping to revive the franchise that started with the original 1987 Paul Verhoeven film.

Original writers Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner are set to produce the film and Justin Rhodes, who co-wrote the upcoming Terminator film for James Cameron and Tim Miller, will rewrite a script that Neumeier and Miner wrote years ago which was originally a planned sequel to Verhoeven’s hit. That installment never happened due to some issues. As far as the plot goes, here's a brief bit of info that was shared:

Anarchy reigns and the fate of Detroit hangs in the balance as RoboCop makes his triumphant return to fight crime and corruption.

Sounds good to me! I like that this is going to be a sequel to the original film. That should make it more fun for the fans. I imagine that the film will also be rated R now that R rated films are making money.

In 2014 MGM produced a RoboCop remake with director Jose Padilha and actor Joel Kinnaman, but that movie didn't do too well.

According to the report, Blomkamp jumped at the chance to make a new RoboCop movie that harkens back to and picks up the storyline from the original film. The director offered the following statement:

"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. 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."

I'm excited about this and I think Blomkamp is going to deliver an awesome RoboCop movie! What do you all think about Blomkamp helming this RoboCop Returns movie?

It's going to be interesting to see how this turns out!