Director Neill Blomkamp is set to begin filming his next project Greenland starring Chris Evans early next year in Toronto. But, he seems to be already prepping RoboCop Returns, a direct sequel to the original 1987 film for MGM Studios and Orion Pictures.
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company’s nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
The new film has Terminator screenwriter Justin Rhodes doing rewrites on a previous script penned by co-creators Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. There is an expectation that the graphic violence and satire not seen in Sony’s recent PG-13 reboot would be making a return. Not to mention hints from Blomkamp that stars Peter Weller and Nancy Allen could be back in their respective lead roles.
Omega Underground has now learned that Dredd costume designer Diana Cilliers has joined the pre-production team. She previously worked with Blomkamp on District 9 and Chappie.
The costume designer is a very key component to a production like this as RoboCop is essentially a man in a suit (not like Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd) and they’ll need a seasoned veteran like Diana to work things out with the art/props departments.
I have my fingers crossed they’ll be able to convince Weta Workshop to get involved.
Cilliers also has a connection to RoboCop co-creator Edward Neumeier doing the costumes on his directorial effort Starship Troopers 3: Marauders.
RoboCop Returns will most likely end up shooting a portion of the film in South Africa.
Production and release dates are currently unknown.
SOURCE: OMEGA UNDERGROUND