While Detroit is attempting to erect a Robocop statue (with Peter Weller‘s blessing), MGM is looking to reboot the franchise. We’ve heard about Darren Aronofsky‘s “ultra-violent” reboot that may still happen one day. Deadline reports it indeed will, but without Aronofsky, who is off doing The Wolverine.
Brazilian director Jose Padilha is negotiations to take over the project. For those unfamiliar, it would be a remake of the “the futuristic 1987 film originally helmed by Paul Verhoeven. The original was about a cop who was near death and was drafted to become a powerful cyborg cop, until suppressed memories of his past life come back to haunt him. Peter Weller played the character in the original and the 1990 sequel.”
Padilha is virtually unknown to American audiences, but his two Elite Squad films were huge hits in Brazil. He was also behind the critically praised Bus 174 documentary. The director has been searching for his English-language debut and was previously attached to Tales From The Gangster squad, a project that Ben Affleck, Scott Cooper, Ruben Fleischer, and many more directors are circling.
Robocop will be the recovering studio’s “first major franchise play, and they worked hard to find a filmmaker who could play on a global field.” I have yet to see his films, but I heard great buzz at Sundance, where Elite Squad 2 played. I’ll certainly be checking them out as soon as possible. Check out a trailer for his latest below.
What do you think about Jose Padilha directing the Robocop remake?