Requiem for a Robot: Aronofsky Set to Direct Robocop

Who was that masked man?

Variety reports that Robocop will be returning to the big screen. Darron Aronofsky will direct from David Self’s screenplay.

The Variety article doesn’t call this a a sequel (which is what it really is), but rather a reboot. I think it is now fair to ask whether it is time to retire the word “reboot” in reference to movies.

Aronofsky is finishing up The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. He had been rumored to be attached to Robocop for a while, but now it’s official, I suppose. It will be interesting to see what someone who’s better known for art house fare will do with a big action franchise like Robocop. Variety says that the word on this version is that it will head off in a noir direction. So I guess think Blade Runner and you’ll be on the right track.

Self is known for his screenplay for Road to Perdition. He wrote the in-production Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro, and is set for God of War, which Brett Ratner is supposed to direct. I know everyone is thrilled about that news.

Now the next question is who will step into Peter Weller’s big shoes in the role of the “part man, part machine, all cop?” Weller always projected a quirky kind of intelligence in all his roles, even in the dead zone Robocop getup. There certainly are plenty of people who can be adequate in this part, but who will take it beyond that? Well, just as long as no one is talking about remaking The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. That would be too much.