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RoboCop Returns In Development From District 9 Director Neil Blomkamp

We're not sure who asked for it, exactly, but you might be interested to know that they're making another RoboCop movie.

District 9 director Neil Blomkamp has been tapped to direct a new RoboCop sequel for MGM called RoboCop Returns, according to a news item from Deadline

Directed by Paul Verhoeven, the 1987 RoboCop is a brilliant piece of hyper-violent law-enforcement, government, and private business satire, a reboot of which was previously attempted in 2014. 

According to Deadline, MGM is hoping to entirely revive the franchise with this new movie from Blomkamp. During its heyday, RoboCop inspired two film sequels, a TV series, two cartoons, and multitudes of other multi-media content, making the dystopian character into an unlikely action hero. 

RoboCop Returns is being written by Justin Rhodes, who is also the co-writer of the upcoming sixth Terminator movie. Reportedly, Rhodes will be rewriting an existing script from Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, the writers of the original movie. Neumeier and Miner will be involved with this new sequel in production capacities.

As a result of the new film being a direct sequel to the first movie, RoboCop Returns will allegedly ignore both of the original sequels, as well as the 2014 remake.

"It's a continuation, really, of the first movie," Neumeier said to Zeitgeist. "In my mind. So it's a little bit more of the old school thing."

Blomkamp, the director chosen to steer the sequel toward fruition, is a filmmaker whose movies (such as Elysium and Chappie) have all focused on sci-fi-based cultural commentary, much in the same way the original RoboCop did. It's not that surprising to hear that the filmmaker counts that movie as being among his influences.

"The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid," Blomkamp said, speaking to Deadline. "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."

According to Blomkamp, the themes from the original movie that are currently resonating with him mostly involve "identity, and the search for identity." 

"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," Blomkamp continued. "That is most captivating."

Blomkamp has been in a similar position before regarding the potential revival of a classic 80s franchise. Within the last few years, he was attached to a potential sequel to Alien that would ignore story elements introduced in Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. While news of the project generated a lot of fan interest, that sequel ultimately failed to materialize.

We'll have more on RoboCop Returns as the project develops.