Neill Blomkamp said to be developing MGM’s proposed RoboCop sequel.

There’s been some talk for a while about a possible sequel to the 1987 sci-fi classic, RoboCop but it seems things are finally moving forward. Today MGM has announced that there is indeed a new film in development and it’s to be directed by Neill Blomkamp.

The studio hopes that Blomkamp, who has had mixed success in the past, will be the right man to revive the franchise which started in 1987. The original was directed by Paul Verhoeven and is a huge favourite here at Film ’89 Towers.

The original writers, Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, are on board with Neumeier producing and Miner acting as Executive Producer. The script is being written by Justin Rhodes, who wrote the currently in production 6th Terminator film which is being directed by Tim Miller and is said to be based on a script idea called RoboCop Returns which has allegedly been doing the rounds in Hollywood for years and is a direct sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s original film.

Blomkamp started his career with the brilliant District 9, a sci-fi thriller set in his native South Africa. He has also directed the Matt Damon/Jodie Foster sci-fi film Elysium and Chappie, which was based on a short film called Tetra Vaal. He was recently linked to a possible reboot of the Alien franchise (which you can read about here) but nothing solid seems to have come of it.

RoboCop had two sequels that got gradually worse, several very poor television shows and was remade in 2014, but that version, directed by José Padilha, failed to impress audiences or critics. You can read our thoughts on that film in the link below.

Obviously there’s very little in the way of story so far but it does seem that it will once again be set in Detroit and will feature our hero returning after the city falls, once again, into the hands of greedy corporations and criminal gangs.

We’ll be following this news with great interest and more than a little trepidation.

Source: Deadline.

As RoboCop turns 30, we take a look back at the 2014 Remake.