RoboCop Returns [Neil Blomkamp]

pixelburp

If at first you don't succeed, hire the guy who couldn't get an Aliens sequel greenlit:

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.

[...]

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

Nothing more concrete than that, though with Blomkamp at the helm you can presume lots of grunge-infused world-building & technology. R-rated violence and a potentially garbage plot.


https://deadline.com/2018/07/robocop-neill-blomkamp-directing-robocop-returns-justin-rhodes-ed-neumeier-michael-miner-mgm-1202424639/

Mr E

No doubt with Sharlto Copley as Murphy and a really strong South African accent.

dreamers75

Fock this, fock that etc


Still could be good, tbh the bar is so low now it cant be any worse than 2014 version.

Sad Professor

Well if you can’t get Verhoeven, Blomkamp is the next best thing. However I don’t think Robocop as concept works without the satire which was inextricably tied up in Reaganism.

Gatling

It could really interesting I'd love it to really to get back to the original roots and with a darker edge , rather than the usual bright popcorn Hollywood rehash .

Hurrache

Sad Professor wrote: »

Well if you can’t get Verhoeven, Blomkamp is the next best thing. However I don’t think Robocop as concept works without the satire which was inextricably tied up in Reaganism.

Dunno, it could easily made to fit in with the climate of authoritarianism and so on in the states at the moment.

Sad Professor

Hurrache wrote: »

Dunno, it could easily made to fit in with the climate of authoritarianism and so on in the states at the moment.

I don’t think it’s possible to satirise Trump, or modern Republicans for that matter. Nothing compares to the reality. Centrist democrats on the other hand...

CastorTroy

So it's a sequel to the original movie, ignoring everything that came after?
The remake was really bad. I remember thinking the city seemed like a nice place to live and didn't need someone like Robocop.
The tv series was a complete joke. Another 18 rated movie turned into Saturday afternoon television.

pixelburp

Sad Professor wrote: »

I don’t think it’s possible to satirise Trump, or modern Republicans for that matter. Nothing compares to the reality. Centrist democrats on the other hand...

I dunno, there's a value in catharsis if the route taken was to skewer the Trump administration; sure the target might be low hanging fruit adhering to the 'truth is stranger than fiction' mantra, but equally the film could easily mutate the worse impulses taken, or insinuated, by Trump & co. and be satirically valid.

TheIrishGrover

Heard about this yesterday. While Blomkamp will certainly do a great jot job from a technical POV as someone said, it will be difficult without the satire of the original. The US situation these days is beyond satire: What would they say? Friends with North Korea/China/Russia and trade wars etc with previous allies. Police violence. Extreme consumerism and stripping/privatization of huge swathes of government bodies. I mean even the fact that Trump is president would have been a step too far in Verhoven's Robocop.

Please note: This is NOT a bash at Trump before yet another thread gets hijacked.

They could go down the path if the militarization of the police in the US, the rising xenophobia and isolation of the US. That would strip all the humour that made Robocop so much fun and made all the sequels so po-faced and dull.

At least it will look great. I think he is a good director (Even if Chappie was a misguided and unfocused mess) and he deserves a chance at a high=profile project like this after they shafted him on his Aliens sequel.

pixelburp

I think Blomkamp has had a fairer crack at the whip than most: 3 relatively high profile films in their own right, alongside the 'Oats Studios' short films he has been knocking out the last year or two. Watched some of the shorts and it's the same schtick again: grimy industrial design mixed with ultra-violence.

He's an undoubtedly good production designer with a keen eye for tangibility, but his actual abilities with structure and character are ropey to say the least; one saving grace is that he's not writing this time, so it'll be good to see if he gets better under the guidance of someone else's work.

Frank Bullitt

Looking forward to this.

Might as well get a head start and watch the first one tonight...again...for the 9,876th time.

Hande hoche!

Sounds like a decent fit. Chappie already seemed like a bit of a Robocop/Short circuit blend. As above if the script is decent it could work very nicely.

dreamers75

Whatever happened District 10? Still in the works according to google 2017.

Sad Professor

Sad Professor wrote: »

Well if you can’t get Verhoeven, Blomkamp is the next best thing. However I don’t think Robocop as concept works without the satire which was inextricably tied up in Reaganism.

Hey a post Trump/Brexit world is ripe to satire

KungPao

I’m not sure if I’d buy that for a dollar.

Sad Professor

Satire is usually about mocking some political or moral figure or ideology, presenting them in an absurd way. Trump has no ideology or morality and it's impossible to make him seem any more absurd that he already is. For that reason, him and his demagoguery ilk are immune to satire IMO.

There are plenty of other aspects of modern day America that a Robocop sequel could satirise, though. Robocop himself was a parody of American militarism, which is always ripe for satire.

Drumpot

I agree that it’s extremely difficult to satarise Trump.

Suppose they could build a ridiculous wall, make it like the Berlin Wall because Detroit is near Canada. Have America as an even more extreme xenophobic country , hyper protectionist and make it all racism towards foreigners (even visitors on holidays).

pixelburp

Trump himself might be a little immune to proper satire - but his policies and those of his supporters are not. Those policies are as old and depressing as ever.

As Drumpot mentions, it'd be easy enough to aim a new Robocop towards the isolationism and wannabe strongman-autocracy the US is slowly sliding towards. Or take a cue as well from The Handmaid's Tale, turn Robocop's US into a hyper-Gilead, surrounding itself with a wall to keep everyone out (and in), soldiers patrolling the streets, corporations running riot on the remains of city goverment etc. etc.

Sad Professor

We're already awash with those kinds of dystopian futures though. I'm not sure there's a lot of satirical potential left in them. It's just the same boring pessimism. That's probably the route they'll take though.

pixelburp

The fact the original writers are involved gives me some cause for hope that this will be more than another Blomkamp splatterfest, but honestly I don't expect anything remotely satirical, bar perhaps some background nods - or ala the 2014 reboot with its limp, washed-out attempts at 'satire'

Maybe they'll avoid the political satire all together, and perhaps skewer another ripe target - like our nostalgia obsessed culture. Do what Ready Player One wouldn't or couldn't. Robocop 1987 also had a pretty mean streak with all those interstitials, the fake news broadcasts and advertisements. They could have a mock reboot of 'buy that for a dollar' guy - that sort of thing

You know, if I was producing this film, but apparently I can influence DC executives, so I'm confident MGM are reading this thread too

CastorTroy

If it's a sequel to the first movie then the landscape can't have changed that much, depending on how long after the original it's set.

Dunno how many times I've used the words "Born and raised in Old Detroit" when singing Don't Stop Believin' because of Robocop

Church on Tuesday

It could be good I guess. Blomkamp is very hit and miss and mostly miss.

You can't top the '87 original anyway, it's a product of it's time.

Slydice

Hold on.. you mean I watched Robocop 3 when it came out for nothing?!?!?

BUT THE SAMURAI/NINJA? BOTS!!!

fonecrusher1

The original Robocop is a sci-fi / satire masterpiece.

Robo 2 ... not so much but still very watchable. R3 lets not go there. Anyone who is a Robocop fan usually is in agreement that its a bit sh1te although not as bad as some of the Youtube reviews make it out to be.

The reboot a few years ago did its best but fell a bit flat in my opinion. But in all honesty how complex must it have been to remake such a contemporary sci fi giant of a film.

Who knows Blomkamp might resurrect Robocop like Christopher Nolan did with Batman Begins. Another movie franchise that had been destroyed by misdirection.

Blomkamp is the closet thing we're going to get to Verhoeven so i'm optimistic.

Go Robo.

TerrorFirmer

Robocop 3 was an embarrassment, not just a bad film but an utterly dismal one devoid of almost any redeeming qualities. I've even tried rewatching it a few times, half convinced I was perhaps being too harsh on it, but it is just spectacularly awful.

I think some of the Robocop made-for-TV movies are almost better that R3, terrible as they are.

I definitely have a major fondness for the sheer pulp of Robocop 2, although it's not a patch on the original which has aged extremely well aside from the comical end scene where justice is served from the 100th floor.

Thought the reboot was decent and surprisingly darker than expected, all things considered (including a a 12A rating). I'd give it a thumbs up rather than thumbs down, and frankly expected a lot worse.

Blomkamp definitely has the visual flair to truly do the franchise justice, though his last few films have been really hit and miss narrative wise.

Chappie definitely paid major homage to Robocop and Robocop 2 in more than a few scenes.

Overall, good news.

fonecrusher1

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

aside from the comical end scene where justice is served from the 100th floor.

Yeah with the freakishly long arms on your man as he's falling? What the hell is that about ...

:pac:

BrookieD

Sad Professor wrote: »

Well if you can’t get Verhoeven, Blomkamp is the next best thing. However I don’t think Robocop as concept works without the satire which was inextricably tied up in Reaganism.

I think they could make it fit the Trump era if they were wise and smart.   If its better than the last version i am on board

pixelburp

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Robocop 3 was an embarrassment, not just a bad film but an utterly dismal one devoid of almost any redeeming qualities. I've even tried rewatching it a few times, half convinced I was perhaps being too harsh on it, but it is just spectacularly awful.

I can't remember the exact details, but wasn't Orion Pictures on the brink of collapse around the time of Robocop 3? I think it was the last, or one of the last films they released under the studio - unless I'm getting my studio history all sorts of wrong.

Only saw the third movie the once, having already been pre-warned of its quality. Even then it somehow failed to hit those low, low expectations. Above all else I recall the film being quite shockingly low budget.

Sad Professor

I loved Robocop 3 when I was young. It was one of my first VHS tapes and I watched it over and over. Some of the action scenes are really good. It's the weakest of the films but there was definitely potential there. I wouldn't say it was low budget, certainly bigger budget than the first film.

And maybe it's the Frank Miller connection or maybe it was ripping off other films that I'm not aware of, but I totally think it influenced Chris Nolan's Batman. Nolan doesn't seem to want to admit it, but I think he spent most of his life watching garbage movies.

Shred

I loved District 9 (but I don't pine for a sequel), I thought Elysium was disappointing but still decent. Chappie, however, was an embarrassing load of shíte; which was a shame as I was looking forward to it at the time. Having said that I do like Blomkamp, he seems like a good guy with some interesting (design mostly) ideas and I'd be interested to see how this goes considering he's not writing this time.

smurf492

pixelburp wrote:

I can't remember the exact details, but wasn't Orion Pictures on the brink of collapse around the time of Robocop 3? I think it was the last, or one of the last films they released under the studio - unless I'm getting my studio history all sorts of wrong.

It was filmed in 91 and supposed to be released the same year but Orion did go belly up... The same happened with the Stephen King adaptation of the dark half. Filmed in 91,not released until 93

CastorTroy

Yeah Robocop 3 kept running out of money or something. I remember the game was released long before the film

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

fonecrusher1

smurf492 wrote: »

It was filmed in 91 and supposed to be released the same year but Orion did go belly up...

I'm sorry but that's just not correct. Robocop 2 was released in cinemas in the US half way through 1990 so I can't see them writing, filming and finishing Robocop 3 the following year.

I still think Robocop 3 was very disliked because Peter Weller wasn't in it.

Sad Professor

Robocop 3 was held back a year, not two years, according to Wikipedia. It was supposed to come out summer '92 but was pushed back to '93.

I'd say the biggest problem with it was the PG-13 rating. It's quite a departure from the violence and satire of the first two.

CastorTroy

Sure remember the completely non violent Saturday afternoon tv series? Think the only death was the lady who became the computer. Though I didn't watch it all. I do remember Pudface though.

Sad Professor

CastorTroy wrote: »

Sure remember the completely non violent Saturday afternoon tv series? Think the only death was the lady who became the computer. Though I didn't watch it all. I do remember Pudface though.

Oh, don't remind me. Robocop never shot anyone, ever! He would just shoot at objects, usually a book shelf or a cabinet causing it fall on the criminal. And the OCP chairman instead of being a ruthless capitalist like the movies was a kindly old man who cared about the community. Worst thing he ever did was say something sexist resulting in him being kidnapped by a bunch of women who made him to housework. It was ridiculous.

smurf492

fonecrusher1 wrote:

I'm sorry but that's just not correct. Robocop 2 was released in cinemas in the US half way through 1990 so I can't see them writing, filming and finishing Robocop 3 the following year.

Well according to imdb and numerous other sites it was filmed in 91 and left on the shelf. Considering how bad it is, I believe it.

TerrorFirmer

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

I still think Robocop 3 was very disliked because Peter Weller wasn't in it.

Robocop 3 was disliked because it was absolute crap!

Peter Weller not returning is the least of it's problems. And, truth be told, the PG-13 rating isn't necessarily the hammer below you'd expect either.

It's just a massive embarrassing cheese-fest. In the opening scene Robocop literally shoots a circular hole through the roof of his car and emerges like a budding flower....the movie starts out exactly as it continues.

Let's not get started on the flying scene....

pixelburp

Sad Professor wrote: »

Oh, don't remind me. Robocop never shot anyone, ever! He would just shoot at objects, usually a book shelf or a cabinet causing it fall on the criminal. And the OCP chairman instead of being a ruthless capitalist like the movies was a kindly old man who cared about the community. Worst thing he ever did was say something sexist resulting in him being kidnapped by a bunch of women who made him to housework. It was ridiculous.

There was that weird period in the 90s when otherwise R-rated IPs were translated into cartoons and toys; aside from the Robocop cartoon, there were also the likes of Alien, Predator and Terminator toys marketed alongside the clearly-adult franchises. It was strange.

CastorTroy

There were also the likes of Toxic Avenger, Starship Troopers and Rambo cartoons

ancapailldorcha

Has there been any word on Peter Weller returning? He might be persuadable if the script is decent and the suit is less of an ordeal.

Ronanc1

CastorTroy wrote: »

There were also the likes of Toxic Avenger, Starship Troopers and Rambo cartoons

Wash your mouth out! The Starship Troopers show was great.

smurf492

ancapailldorcha wrote:

Has there been any word on Peter Weller returning? He might be persuadable if the script is decent and the suit is less of an ordeal.

Probably not but could be easy to manipulate his face through cgi and get him to voice the role...

Sad Professor

pixelburp wrote: »

There was that weird period in the 90s when otherwise R-rated IPs were translated into cartoons and toys; aside from the Robocop cartoon, there were also the likes of Alien, Predator and Terminator toys marketed alongside the clearly-adult franchises. It was strange.

The Robocop series I was thinking of was live action, I don't recall the cartoon. But one of the interesting things about the 80s and early 90s was even the movies ostensibly for kids were often fairly dark and adult in tone. For example, the first Turtles, Tim Burton's Batman, etc.

Slydice

Ronanc1 wrote: »

Wash your mouth out! The Starship Troopers show was great.

Much better than Starship Troopers 2!

CastorTroy

Ronanc1 wrote: »

Wash your mouth out! The Starship Troopers show was great.

Never watched it, but was just listing cartoons based on 18 rated movies. I did hear it was good though. Just never got to see it

pixelburp

Sad Professor wrote: »

The Robocop series I was thinking of was live action, I don't recall the cartoon. But one of the interesting things about the 80s and early 90s was even the movies ostensibly for kids were often fairly dark and adult in tone. For example, the first Turtles, Tim Burton's Batman, etc.

Oh my, you're right, I was only remembering the cartoon but when you mentioned it I do have vague memories of a live action show too.

True about kids films, when you go back and watch some these classics from the 80s, 90s they really were quite dark and scary. It's probably not that much of a stretch they made xenomorph toys.

ancapailldorcha

Sad Professor wrote: »

The Robocop series I was thinking of was live action, I don't recall the cartoon. But one of the interesting things about the 80s and early 90s was even the movies ostensibly for kids were often fairly dark and adult in tone. For example, the first Turtles, Tim Burton's Batman, etc.

I got so excited when I saw the boxset I immediately bought it. Watched a grand total of one episode. It was appalling. Here's a Youtube playlist if anyone's interested in watching it:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw5xASa5Kgvn4KYqkvaa4q774sDhHqaww

Skerries

Robocop 3 was great on the Amiga, the 8 bits not so much