Just a week after his name was thrown in the midst of discussion, Deadline has confirmed that Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, Snabba Cash) is stepping in Peter Weller‘s metal boots and taking up the mantle of RoboCop for Jose Padilha. While it’s, undeniably, a less commercial choice than someone such as Chris Pine or Michael Fassbender, one might find some understanding in Deadline’s note that studios are “desperately trying to find male stars [to] build movies around.”

Never did I imagine that Kinnaman would be one to have such a responsibility hoisted upon them, but congratulations and the best of luck to him. The guy’s a pretty solid actor, and, more importantly, the kind who has a skill in imbuing some genre material with humanity and emotion. (The Darkest Hour being excluded, I presume.)

That being said, however, reports have indicated that the RoboCop of today won’t bear too great a resemblance to Paul Verhoeven‘s controversial classic. Rather, Padilha promises something that will raise questions concerning “topics that Verhoeven untreated” — how someone changes into a cyborg, how this affects free will, the difference between humans and cyborgs, and others among them. If he’s actually interested in going down that path — and not simply delivering some ’80s-style fun to multiplexes — then this already has a shot of earning my attention. Kinnaman, as they say, could be a seal on the proverbial deal.

Production is expected to begin this summer.

Do you think Kinnaman can do the RoboCop character justice?