Franchises don’t really die anymore — there’s simply too much potential lucre to be made. So, even though barely four years have passed since the failed “RoboCop” reboot starring Joel Kinnaman, of course, yet another big screen iteration of the crime fighter is in the works.
“RoboCop” co-creator Ed Neumeier spilled the beans to Zeitgeist Magazine, telling them that he’s “working on a new one at MGM right now.” Of course, this is all supposed to be hush-hush, but so much for that.
“We’re not supposed to say too much,” he explained. “There’s been a bunch of other ‘RoboCop’ movies and there was recently a remake and I would say this would be kind of going back to the old ‘RoboCop’ we all love and starting there and going forward. So it’s a continuation really of the first movie. In my mind. So it’s a little bit more of the old school thing.”
Basically, it sounds like what James Cameron and co. are doing with the upcoming new “Terminator” flick — basically ignoring everything that happened after “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and starting the story anew. Seems reasonable enough, though it remains to be seen who actually wants this probably blockbuster.
However, everyone would be wise to heed the advice of director Paul Verhoeven, who pointed out why the reboot failed against his still stone cold classic.
“….in [2014’s] ‘RoboCop when he awakens they gave him the same brain. He’s a horribly injured and amputated victim, which is horrifying and tragic from the very beginning. So we didn’t do that in [1987’s] ‘RoboCop.’ His brain is gone and he has only flashes of memory and needs to go to a computer to find out who he even is,” Verhoeven said in 2016. “I think by not having a robot brain, you make the movie much heavier and I don’t think that helps the movie in any way. It becomes more silly or absurd, but in the wrong way. Both those movies needed the distance of satire or comedy to situate it for audiences. Playing it straight without any humor is a problem and not an improvement.”
Well said. Thoughts about all this? Put your data in the comments section. [via Den Of Geek]