The post-Star Wars sci-fi boom wasn’t all feel-good stories about heroes overcoming impossible odds. The dystopian sci-fi also experienced a revival, as movies like Blade Runner paved the way for gritty thrillers set in worlds where technology improved but life got worse.
One of the most infamous movies this trend produced, Robocop, used its dystopian setting to interrogate technology, capitalism, and the human element of law enforcement. The result was one of the most iconic sci-fi films of the 1980s, and now, almost 40 years later, Robocop is getting another remake from a tried-and-true producer.
Peter Weller played bionic police officer Alex Murphy in two of the three original movies.
According to Variety, Robocop has been picked up for a series reboot at Prime Video. This new series will be run by Peter Ocko, a veteran writer who’s worked on shows ranging from Dinosaurs and The Office to Elementary. Iconic horror movie director James Wan will serve as co-executive producer alongside Michael Miner and Ed Neumeier, who co-wrote the original Robocop movie.
A Robocop series may seem like a new approach, but it’s actually the fifth TV adaptation of the story. There have already been two live-action and two animated series, on top of the multiple movies, including the 2014 reboot starring Joel Kinnaman. Of course, the fact that you’re struggling to remember any of these series and reboots speaks to their lack of long-term success.
The 2014 Robocop was only rated PG-13, leaving the franchise in dire need of more adult action.
All of the previous TV series lacked the one thing this series could actually provide: sophistication. The shows were surprisingly light-hearted, given their source material; if this new series gets the prestige TV treatment, it could re-imagine the franchise’s goofier elements and use its premise to actually skewer attitudes surrounding contemporary law enforcement. After all, we now live in a world where robots are being used to help cops.
A Robocop reboot has the potential to bring the franchise into the 2020s, but only if it takes its source material seriously. We need something that’s more Watchmen than Cobra Kai, but hopefully the all-star production team will strike a balance between the original story and modern TV trends.
