New Writer Hired for Robocop Reboot

Almost one year ago, MGM hired director Jose Padilha (Elite Squad) to direct the remake/reboot of Robocop. At that time it had been reported that Josh Zetumer was hired to write the script, but it has been revealed that a new writer is now on board.

The Hollywood Reporter announced that Gran Torino writer Nick Schenk has been brought on to work on the Robocop script. There is no mention on whether he's starting from scratch or if he's working off Zetumer's work. The report also notes that MGM is looking to start filming this summer, but it is all tentative, as no one has signed on for the lead role.

This project has been on and off due to MGM's previous financial troubles and the departure of the reboot's original director, Darren Aronofsky. In a previous interview, Jose Padilha noted that he wants to keep the movie set in Detroit and also talked about his take on the material:

“‘RoboCop’ is a brilliant premise because the character is not a super-hero... He’s a man who’s been transformed by technology for certain purposes. And so that premise alone touches so many interesting subjects. What does it mean to be immersed in automated systems and deprived of free will? What does it mean to be used by corporations for certain purposes? How does the media spin things around to make certain interests accepted by the public? Those are all things you can see in the first ‘RoboCop,’ and those are all things that are coming closer and closer to being real. Science is taking us there. And so that premise alone is really interesting to me.”