Abe Forsythe to Direct ‘Robocop Returns’ for MGM

Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, screenwriters for the original “Robocop,” will produce

Robocop 30th anniversary

“Little Monsters” director Abe Forsythe will direct “Robocop Returns” for MGM, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

The project is a long-dormant sequel that had been planned by the original 1987 film’s screenwriters Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, but was canceled when director Paul Verhoeven declined to direct the project and a WGA strike in 1988 followed.

Justin Rhodes, who wrote “Terminator: Dark Fate,” penned the script for “Robocop Returns” with Forsythe rewriting. Neumeier and Miner will serve as producers.

“RoboCop” follows a Detroit police officer who is shot and nearly killed, but is resurrected as an android police officer by a powerful corporation. The film is considered one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all-time, earning three Oscar nominations and winning one for its special effects while earning praise for its satire and exploration of capitalism, law enforcement and corruption.

The film sparked a franchise that includes a 2014 remake directed by Jose Padilha, with Neumeier and Miner among the writers. The film was a domestic flop and received more tepid reviews than its original, but found success in China and earned $240 million against a $101 million budget.

Forsythe is repped by CAA, Grandview and Hansen Jacobson.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.

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