Summary
- Neill Blomkamp had plans to make a direct sequel to 1987’s Robocop, picking up right after the events of the original movie.
- Blomkamp wanted to emulate director Paul Verhoeven’s style for the sequel, wanting it to feel like it was the day after the original film.
- While Robocop Returns never made it to the screen, a new Robocop movie and TV series are currently in the works, with Prime Video holding the rights to the franchise.
Neill Blomkamp is often seen as a director with some of the biggest unrealized movies in his vault of projects that never made it beyond the development stage. Alongside the likes of his Alien 5 pitch, another “one that got away” was his plan to make a direct sequel to 1987’s Robocop. In a recent interview promoting Gran Turismo, Blomkamp shared some details about the movie that would have been entitled Robocop Returns, and would have picked up directly after events of the original movie.
Speaking in an interview with JoBLo, the Blomkamp explained that unlike many of his other movies, he would have wanted to emulate the directorial style of another director. He said:
“That’s the only film that I would have ever done where I would have tried to basically simulate Paul Verhoeven’s directing style. I wanted it to feel like it was the day after. Like if Dick Jones fell out of the window on Monday, this would have been Tuesday. It was like literally the next morning that it began. So it was a direct sequel exactly in the same style.”
Like a number of other proposed movies, Robocop Returns never made it to screen, but that does not mean the franchise will never make a comeback. Having already attempted one reboot in 2014, Prime Video now have the rights to the franchise and are looking to make the most of it with a new movie and TV series in the works.
RoboCop is Getting a New Documentary
As one of many iconic 80s action movies, RoboCop has stood the test of time and continues to be a much loved movie among its fans. SCREAMBOX has recently announced that an original four-part series called RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop will be premiering on August 29. For anyone who loves the movie, you can find the expected collection of cast and crew such as Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ray Wise, Paul Verhoeven and special effects maestro Phil Tippett among those discussing the making of the film. The documentary is co-directed by Chris Griffiths and Eastwood Allen, who recently discussed their endeavor.
“We’ve crafted something together to incorporate visuals and sound in an effort to immerse viewers into the world of ’80s filmmaking and offer something completely unique to the ‘making of’ format,” explains Allen.
“As a fan of RoboCop for the past 30 years, this project has been a labor of love for me, and I can’t wait to share this unique project with the fans, especially those who have stood by us all these years,” adds Griffiths.
The new documentary will join the huge number of genre docs on SCREAMBOX, which include the recently released Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, as well as Living with Chucky, Scream, Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street, Pennywise: The Story of IT, Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser, and Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
