RoboCop
Director: José Padilha
Screenwriter: Joshua Zetumer
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jay Baruchel
Columbia Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 118 Minutes
Release Date: February 12, 2013

“I’d buy that for a dollar!”

Directed by Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, 1987’s RoboCop is a sci-fi satire that explores themes of greed, privatization, capitalism, dystopia, and identity. The film spawned two theatrical sequels, two animated series, and two live-action television series – not to mention comic books, video games, toys, and theme park rides.

Because the RoboCop franchise was popular and profitable in the ’80s, it was only a matter of time until Hollywood resurrected it. For an industry that rides a fine line between creativity and commerce, movie studios see remakes as a way to mitigate financial risk. Why take a chance on new ideas and original scripts when they can dust off a recognizable brand and put a “new spin” on it, appealing to the audience’s collective nostalgia for said brand? For studios, remakes operate on the simple principle that, even if it sucks, it will still make money.

And so here we are, in the year 2014, with a RoboCop remake by Brazilian director José Padilha, best known for the 2007 crime film Elite Squad and its sequel, 2010’s Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (the highest-grossing film in Brazilian history). The Elite Squad films are action-packed; filled with intense violence, police corruption, and political commentary, which is probably why MGM and Sony chose Padilha to direct in the first place.

Back in July at SDCC, we told you about the first trailer we got to see for the reboot of RoboCop, starring Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Now, that trailer has been released online. Watch it here below.

RoboCop, directed by Jose Padilha, is scheduled to hit theaters on February 7, 2014.

Anticipation for the RoboCop remake has been hit or miss since the project was announced, which made the Sony/Screen Gems panel at San Diego Comic-Con today the first big chance the filmmakers had to get everyone on their side. On hand to talk about the film were director Jose Padilha, and actors Joel Kinnaman (The Killing), Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch), Michael Keaton, and fan favorite Samuel L. Jackson.

The panel started with a solid 5-minute clip showing Samuel L. Jackson as a TV host, sending out a broadcast showing some ED-209’s in action in the Middle East, while Michael Keaton’s character tries to convince members of the government that robots can be used as police instead of humans.

Director Jose Padilha explained that he wasn’t going to attempt to do the same movie that came out in 1987, but wanted to take elements and put them in a modern context where combat drones are a very real thing.

Last Time on Skull-Face Island: Faithful robotic butler Mar-10 took Adam on a magical, mysterious journey to Austin, TX, to fulfill his destiny by visiting the South by Southwest Film Festival. David, worried that he may had inadvertently killed Adam using a voodoo doll, is searching the island for his lost companion. During all of this, Tim was drunk and hallucinating after drinking two-too-many Skull-Face Island Iced Teas…

Today’s Episode: We find Adam safe and sound in Austin, TX, where he is attending movies at SXSW. Mar-10 left to take care of some robot business, but gave Adam a special two-way radio to communicate with Tim and report his experience.

We join Adam now as he contacts Tim with mini-reviews of Evil Dead and V/H/S 2. We’ll also check-in on David’s Adventure: The Mystery of the Missing Adam…

You’ve seen him play tag-team partner to Batman and Harry Potter, now Gary Oldman will help RoboCop kick ass in Old Detroit.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oldman has joined the cast of Jose Padilha‘s RoboCop remake, which stars Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) as Officer Alex J. Murphy, a man resurrected and reborn as a cyborg police officer.

THR says that Oldman will play Norton, “the scientist who creates RoboCop and finds himself torn between the ideals of the machine trying to rediscover its humanity and the callous needs of a corporation.”

In my recent feature RoboCop: Electric Dreams and Cybernetic Wishes, I referenced an April report from The Tracking Board that first mentioned the character of Norton. At the time, Edward Norton was in talks for the role.