After directing the original RoboCop movie in 1987, Paul Verhoeven has largely kept his distance from the other installments of the sci-fi series… until now
During New York Comic-Con (via ScreenRant), executive producer James Wan revealed that he’s been working with Verhoeven on Prime Video’s upcoming RoboCop series. The extent of Verhoeven’s involvement is unknown, but is it too much to hope that he might direct an episode? The last time the 88-year-old director was behind the camera was for Benedetta, which was shot in 2018 and released in 2021. He’s been trying to get another project, an erotic political thriller titled Young Sinner, off the ground ever since.
Dan Stevens Plays RoboCop
Dan Stevens is set to play Alex Murphy in the series. Although I’m still uncertain about the series itself, I’ve got to admit that Stevens could do very well in the role. The actor has previously said that the original movie is one of his favourite films of all time, and he hopes the series can bring the same flavour of extreme violence and satire to the table.
“I think maybe one of the first exposures to extreme violence and also satire,” he said. “I think that’s what I’m most looking forward to, hopefully preserving those elements.“
The eight-episode Robocop series, written by showrunner Peter Ocko, finds a “giant tech conglomerate pursuading the city to place a powerful robot on its police force – a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved fallen officer, Alex Murphy.“
Paul Verhoeven Wasn’t a Fan of the RoboCop Remake
The last time RoboCop graced our screens was the 2014 remake starring Joel Kinnaman, and Verhoeven wasn’t overly fond of it.
“The problem there, I felt, was that he was really aware that he lost all his legs and arms. He knows it from the very beginning,” explained Verhoeven. “The beautiful thing about the original ‘RoboCop,’ what makes it not just pure tragedy or whatever, is that he really does not know anymore. He gets a couple of vague flashes of memory when he goes to his old house, but RoboCop is not a tragic figure. Yes, he’s killed in the most horrible way in the beginning. But when we see him again as a robot, he doesn’t feel that.“
He continued, “In the new one, because he remembers everything, he’s much more tragic. We wanted you to accept him at the beginning as a robotic cop. That’s what they did to him. In my opinion, I thought it was a problem to make him more tragic.“
The original film will always be the best of the franchise for me, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the TV series can at least rise to second place.
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