Having recently delivered to Hulu the zombie comedy ‘Little Monsters’ starring Lupita Nyong’o, director Abe Forsythe is faced with a truly terrifying task– reviving a long-dormant ’80s franchise. In this case, it’s the ‘RoboCop’ reboot/sequel ‘RoboCop Returns’ that Forsythe is tasked with convincing modern audiences to embrace. Recent revivals of old properties have been bombing hard, namely ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ and ‘Doctor Sleep’ (the sequel to 1980’s ‘The Shining’). But then again, there was also ‘Halloween’ which was a big hit in 2018, so you never can tell.
Like both ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ and ‘Halloween’, this new ‘RoboCop’ is touted as a direct sequel to the first movie, which was released in 1987, and apparently ignores the two existing sequels and the 2014 reboot. MGM/Columbia attempted to revive the franchise with the reboot, which starred Joel Kinnaman in the title role. The impressive cast also included Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Gary Oldman. But it was a flop, earning just $242.7 million on a $100M budget.
RELATED: ‘RoboCop Returns’ Has Lost Director Neill Blomkamp
Until recently, Neill Blomkamp (‘District 9’, ‘Elysium’) was attached to direct but departed the project in August. Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, who wrote the original, also co-penned the screenplay for this reboot with Justin Rhodes and are acting as executive producers. Rhodes… um, also co-wrote ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’.
Forsythe is reported to be re-writing the existing script.
Australian Forsythe has worked extensively as both an actor and director in his native country, but ‘Little Monsters’ was his first film to gain international notice. That film received a limited theatrical release before being released for streaming on Hulu. It has largely gotten great reviews and is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 81%. (Its audience score is 100% but that based on only nine reviews.) In addition to Nyong’o, ‘Little Monsters’ also stars Josh Gad, and Australian actor Alexander England. Forsythe wrote the screenplay and directed.
Are you excited that a new ‘RoboCop’ is in the works? Stay tuned for updates as they arrive.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
