Robocop TV series reboot confirmed for Prime Video

Amazon MGM greenlights new Robocop for Prime Video

RoboCop will officially return in an all-new TV series for Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and production company Blumhouse Atomic Monster confirmed Tuesday. The long-rumored series, titled Robocop, has been greenlit for an eight-episode run on Prime Video, with the franchise's original co-creator Ed Neumeier set to executive produce.

Peter Ocko (Lodge 49, Pushing Daisies) will serve as executive producer, showrunner, and writer on Robocop. James Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett will serve as executive producers for Blumhouse Atomic Monster.

According to a news release, Robocop will tell the story of a giant tech conglomerate that "convinces the city to place a powerful robot on its police force – a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved, fallen officer." Based on quotes from the new show's producers, they plan to lean into the original RoboCop's themes of unchecked corporate power and the recklessness of rapid technological advancement.

“I've been a massive fan of Robocop forever, so getting to help bring this world to television is a dream,” said executive producer James Wan in a statement. “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.”

“Robocop is a franchise that has meant something to audiences for nearly four decades — not just as an action spectacle, but as a sharp, provocative mirror of our relationship with technology and power,” said Peter Friedlander, head of global television for Amazon MGM Studios. “Peter Ocko has crafted a vision that honors the soul of what made the original so enduring while building something entirely fresh and urgent for today.”

According to one recent report, the new Robocop will star a soldier-turned-cyborg named Mark Kyle. Wan is reportedly directing key episodes of the new series, which starts filming in 2027.

RoboCop's history of releases, remakes, and reboots

The original RoboCop was released in 1987. Written by Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner and directed by Paul Verhoeven, RoboCop was a hyper-violent action satire that poked fun at unfettered capitalism, gentrification, privatization of public services, and corporate greed. It's considered among the best science-fiction and action films of all time. The success of the first RoboCop inspired two live-action sequels, 1990's RoboCop 2 and 1993's RoboCop 3, and spawned a kids' animated series, live-action television shows, comic books, and video games. A remake starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Keaton, also called RoboCop, was released in 2014 to mixed reception.

District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp attempted a new take on the cyborg cop back in 2018, but that never got off the ground. Blomkamp's version, RoboCop Returns, was reportedly based on a script from Neumeier and Miner that would have brought back Peter Weller as Alex Murphy/RoboCop.

Hopefully, the new show's creators will understand what made RoboCop truly great and will adapt it without fear of poking fun at Prime Video's parent company. The new Robocop does not have a release date.