It’s become quite the thing to take iconic properties and convert them into television. A great example of this would be Apple TV’s current smash hit, Cape Fear. You take a title that was once well known but has perhaps fallen by the wayside, give it a fresh coat of paint, and stretch it out over 8-10 episodes. Sometimes things fall through before they make it to our streaming services; earlier this year, Prime Video announced it would no longer move forward with its planned Stargate reboot series. However, now it appears that the streamer has already found the perfect replacement, as one of the best ideas we’ve heard in a while just got greenlit.
Dead or alive, he’s coming to television. Nearly 40 years after Paul Verhoeven‘s groundbreaking sci-fi classic first introduced audiences to Alex Murphy, RoboCop is officially returning in live-action. The iconic franchise has spawned sequels, cartoons, comics, and video games over the decades, but now it’s heading to the small screen in what could be its biggest expansion in years. Prime Video has officially ordered an eight-episode television series from Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
The series comes from Peter Ocko (Lodge 49, Pushing Daisies), who will serve as writer, showrunner and executive producer. James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett will executive produce through Blumhouse Atomic Monster, alongside Ed Neumeier, co-creator and co-writer of the original 1987 film.
Prime Video’s ‘RoboCop’ Reimagines the Classic Story
The official synopsis reads: “A giant tech conglomerate convinces the city to place a powerful robot on its police force – a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved, fallen officer.” Wan said bringing RoboCop to television has been a long-held ambition. In a statement alongside the announcement, he said:
“I’ve been a massive fan of RoboCop forever, so getting to help bring this world to television is a dream. 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.”
Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television at Amazon MGM Studios, added that Ocko’s take “honors the soul of what made the original so enduring while building something entirely fresh and urgent for today.” The RoboCop series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories. A release date has not yet been announced.
via Collider