Robocop Is Plugging Back In For A Recharge On Amazon Prime

In 1987 Paul Verhoeven introduced to the world the idea of a techno-dystopian Detroit, run by greed and plutocrats, and the ultra-violent cyborg it concocts to restore order (as well as the policeman who didn’t volunteer for the enhancements and struggles to hold on to his human memories). At face value, Robocop is kind of a grim story, but on the surface it was about a cool robot dude who fought crime with hi-tech gear, a less goofy Inspector Gadget, which is the version of him that spawned children’s toys and cartoons.

Amazon, through MGM, now owns the Robocop character and is making plans to bring him back to service through a TV series. We’re told this series will be a reboot that retells the story from the beginning, not a continuation. Peter Ocko (Lodge 49) has been hired as showrunner. The series will be a Blumhouse production with the famed James Wan as producer, alongside Michael Clear and Rob Hackett.

It’s too early to know how much of the 1987 original this will lift, but we know of one change already….this Robocop won’t be a former cop. Instead of Alex Murphy, the subject of the experiment will be a former soldier named Mark Kyle, who falls in battle and wakes up…somewhat different.

“I’ve been a massive fan of Robocop forever, so getting to help bring this world to television is a dream,” says Wan. “What Paul Verhoeven created in 1987 was decades ahead of its time, and its questions about technology, identity, and who corporations really serve have only grown more urgent. With Peter’s distinctive vision and bold approach to storytelling, and alongside Ed and our partners at Amazon MGM Studios, we’re working to honor what made the original iconic and highlight its relevancy in this modern, tech-driven world, while building something unmistakably new for a global audience.”

Our notes tell us Robocop was already rebooted as a movie in 2014. We don’t remember this at all, do you?

Maybe Amazon’s Robocop can be more memorable. Hopefully Jeff Bezos won’t actually introduce cybernetically enhanced robot cops to Detroit before the show airs and sour our mood for it. Amazon’s Robocop currently has no release window.