Neill Blomkamp is quite obviously a big-time genre film fan. Not only is that apparent in his original work, which features influences galore. However, he was also famously attached to direct “Alien 5,” which would have gone back to the original’s roots for a new story. And after that fell apart, Blomkamp has now found himself trying to bring back the glory of another genre masterpiece, “RoboCop.”
It’s been almost exactly a year since it was announced that Blomkamp would be working on a new sequel, simply titled “RoboCop Returns.” The film is said to pick up where the Paul Verhoeven original left off, seemingly pushing the other sequels and spin-offs aside. This seems to be perfectly fine in most fans’ opinions, but this writer has a fondness for the batshit crazy antics of “RoboCop 2.” (I mean, do you even remember the ludicrousness of the little league team robbing a pawn shop?)
READ MORE: Neill Blomkamp To Resurrect ‘RoboCop’ With Writers Of The Verhoeven Classic
And on Twitter, Blomkamp was nice enough to post an update about the progress of the film, considering there haven’t been any updates since last summer.
“Script is being written. Going well! Imagine watching Verhoeven do a follow-up film,” tweeted the filmmaker.
Invoking the name of “RoboCop” filmmaker Paul Verhoeven is sure to raise the eyebrows of many fans who were let down by the neutered remake that came out in 2014. And this led to one such fan asking if the design of RoboCop will be reminiscent of the original film or closer to the remake.
Blomkamp simply replied, “1 million% original.”
READ MORE: Neill Blomkamp Hints That Actor Peter Weller Could Return In His Upcoming ‘RoboCop’ Film
Now, as the original film taught us, it’s not so much the robot we see but the human underneath that makes Murphy such a great character. And that’s the big question that this film has yet to answer — will Peter Weller return? Of course, the films have stopped using Weller’s voice after the first sequel, but it’s such an unmistakable part of the “Robocop” mythos that it’s hard to imagine a faithful “RoboCop” sequel, following in the footsteps of the original, not having Weller involved.
That being said, after the 2014 remake, we’d be pretty pleased with anyone competent doing the voice as long as the story and film, in general, is great.
No release date is set for “RoboCop Returns,” but it is apparently still moving along in development.
https://twitter.com/NeillBlomkamp/status/1145086456047779840
https://twitter.com/NeillBlomkamp/status/1145088814421073920
