Neill Blomkamp is reportedly set to direct ‘RoboCop Returns’.
The 38-year-old filmmaker – who previously directed ‘District 9’ and ‘Elysium’ – has been approached by MGM about helming the latest installment in the film franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Justin Rhodes is currently rewriting a script that was originally penned by Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, who were responsible for writing the original ‘RoboCop’ in 1987.
The first movie in the series is widely considered to be a sci-fi classic, with the script touching on various issues of the decade, including Reaganomics.
However, the two subsequent sequels, ‘RoboCop 2’ and 2014’s ‘RoboCop’, have not been so well received.
The most-recent film in the franchise was directed by Jose Padilha and starred Joel Kinnaman – but was greeted with an unenthusiastic reaction by long-time fans of the series.
Meanwhile, Blomkamp – who became one of Hollywood’s most sought-after directors following the success of ‘District 9’ in 2009 – previously admitted that the failure of ‘Chappie’ was an "unbelievably painful" experience for himself.
Reflecting on the reaction to his 2015 sci-fi movie, Blomkamp shared: "’Chappie’ was unbelievably painful for me. That was difficult on several levels. But the thing with ‘Chappie’ was, it felt like it was extremely close to the film I had in my head.
"Up until the film came out, I felt like I had given my all, and that I’d tried my hardest to make the film I had in my head, and I felt like I achieved that.
"But I’m still upset the fact that it didn’t work. I wish that it did, but it just didn’t, and I still love it. I don’t know what else to say, but the audience didn’t get what I was going for. It didn’t work."
Neill Blomkamp to direct RoboCop Returns
