A year or so back, it was reported that Prime Video was developing several series based on MGM properties. Now, via Variety, we know that at least one of those will be based on the classic sci-fi film RoboCop. Peter Ocko is developing a RoboCop TV series, along with James Wan under his Atomic Monster banner. The official synopsis for the upcoming RoboCop show is the following: “A giant tech conglomerate collaborates with the local police department to introduce a technologically advanced enforcer to combat rising crime — a police officer who’s part man, part machine.” That pretty much sounds like the premise to Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 film.
RoboCop is an iconic property, but it hasn’t fared well creatively outside the original film. But that has not stopped creative powers from trying to make their ventures successful. Star Peter Weller returned as the title character Alex Murphy for RoboCop 2 in 1990, but the film was a disappointment at the box office and critically. Nevertheless, another RoboCop arrived in 1993, with actor Robert Burke taking over for Weller. In 2014, a reboot hit theaters, but again, failed to light the world on fire. In between, there have been several animated series and video games. Much like the Halloween franchise, most of them acknowledge the original 1987 film’s continuity, but ignore other parts of the franchise.
There’s currently no word on whether or not this will be a complete reboot, or a legacy sequel to the original. The latter is something that might renew fan interest would be the return of Peter Weller in the role. Especially after bowing out of it after two films back in the day. But in various interviews, he doesn’t seem too interested in returning to play the part again. A large part of what made the original work so well was that it was a satire of consumerist American culture. This is something other sequels and TV series have forgotten to lean into. We’ll see if the Prime Video iteration can finally recapture what made the original RoboCop so great.