It’s been expected for a while now that Steven Spielberg’s next film would be the adaptation of the sci-fi novel ‘Robopocalypse’. Dreamworks hired Drew Goddard of ‘Cabin in the Woods‘, ‘Cloverfield’, and ‘Lost’ fame to pen the script around 2009 when they acquired the rights to the book pre-publication, and about five months ago they started casting as Chris Hemsworth, Anne Hathaway, and Ben Whishaw were in talks to star. However, it appears that the 2014 film that was meant to begin production this month has suffered some huge setbacks and has been postponed.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvin Levy, a Spielberg representative, said that ‘Robopocalypse’ is to be put on hold indefinitely. He shared with the the site that the movie was “too important and the script is not ready, and it’s too expensive to produce. It’s back to the drawing board to see what is possible”. Previously, the film was pushed back so that the filmmaker could focus on ‘Lincoln’, but now that his full attention on it, there appears to be too many problems to continue.
But not so fast! While there are some problems with the project as it stands now, that doesn’t mean that all is lost. It’s just a case of misunderstanding. The director clarified to Entertainment Weekly and issued this statement:
“We found that the film was costing a lot of money and I found a better way to tell the story more economically but also much more personally. I found the personal way into ‘Robopocalypse’, and so I just told everybody to go find other jobs, I’m starting on a new script and we’ll have this movie back on its feet soon.”
It sounds like Spielberg is still committed to make his return to sci-fi, but it probably won’t make the April 25, 2014 release date. As the legendary director rethinks his approach to the story, those fans anxiously anticipating this film will just have to make due with the Daniel H. Wilson novel for the time being.
Once ‘Robopocalypse’ gets back on it’s feet, be sure to check back here at ScienceFiction.com for the latest information.
