Neill Blomkamp to Direct ‘RoboCop Returns’

Hot on the heels of the announcement of a Child’s Play remake from MGM, whether we want it or not, comes news that a new RoboCop installment is on the horizon and this one I can totally get behind. Deadline are reporting that MGM are developing a new RoboCop installment which will have Neill Blomkamp direct. The film is simply titled RoboCop Returns and will feature Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner as producer and executive producer, respectively.

The film will utilize a script that the duo penned years ago for the planned sequel at the time. However, it wasn’t used and now Justin Rhodes will rewrite from that very script. This is also the first time that Neumeier and Miner have been involved with RoboCop since the original 1987 flick.

The plot for the sequel is pretty straight forward but, that’s what we need. Here’s a brief tease at RoboCop Returns;

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

Also, Blomkamp spoke a little about his love for the original and what he hopes to bring in the new movie;

I loved it then and it remains a classic in the end of 20th Century sci-fi catalog, with real meaning under the surface. Hopefully that is something we can get closer to in making of a sequel. That is my goal here. What I connected to as a kid has evolved over time. At first, the consumerism, materialism and Reaganomics, that ’80s theme of America on steroids, came through most strongly. But As I’ve gotten older, the part that really resonated with me is identity, and the search for identity. As long as the human component is there, a good story can work in any time period, it’s not locked into a specific place in history.

What’s so cool about RoboCop is that like good Westerns, sci-fi films and dramas, the human connection is really important to a story well told. What draws me now is someone searching for their lost identity, taken away at the hands of people who are benefiting from it, and seeing his memory jogged by events. That is most captivating. The other thing I am excited by is the chance to work again with Justin Rhodes. He has added elements that are pretty awesome, to a sequel that was set in the world of Verhoeven. This is a movie I would love to watch.

So, are you guys ready for the return of RoboCop with Blomkamp at the helm? I know I am.