More casting news on the ‘Robocop’ movie front! Michael Kenneth Williams is the latest actor in negotiations to appear in the remake of the classic 1987 sci-fi action flick.
Known lately for his role as Chalky White on HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’, Williams has also starred in the series ‘The Wire’ and has had guest roles on ‘Community’, ‘Law and Order’ and ‘Alias’. Williams is currently filming ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ with stars Brad Pitt (‘World War Z‘) and Michael Fassbender (‘Prometheus’).
If negotiations go well, Williams will play the partner of Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), the officer who is shot and then transformed into Robocop. In the film, Williams’ character is “tight with Murphy’s family.”
This is a big deviation from Paul Verhoeven’s version of the film as the role of Murphy’s partner was played by Nancy Allen. The non-romantic buddy relationship between Officer Anne Lewis and Murphy played well in the film and provided much of the film’s heart. Whether this interplay will now shift to Murphy’s wife or to the mysterious Liz Kline (played by Jennifer Ehle) is unknown but Ehle’s character is another change that was not included in the original film.
Williams will be joining an impressive cast which includes Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Laurie (who will play the villain), Jackie Earle Haley, Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish. Although not yet confirmed, Jay Baruchel is also hoped to be signed soon.
Filming is gearing up to begin next month in Toronto with a release date of August 9, 2013.
