Now that Amazon’s takeover of MGM has been finalized, with the company’s streaming service already adding the entire James Bond and Rocky back catalogues in some markets to instantly capitalize on valuable IP, speculation and daydreaming can officially start about which properties will be dusted off and given a fresh coat of paint.
Having been in the works for over four years already, a process that saw original director Neill Blomkamp drop out to be replaced by Abe Forsythe in November 2019, many fans have been hoping that RoboCop Returns will eventually escape from development hell and make it onto either the big or small screen.
The 2014 remake wasn’t what anybody wanted it to be, but you could argue that the franchise hasn’t quite been run into the ground just yet, even if the notion of a prequel series focusing on a young Dick Jones sounds completely unnecessary and utterly pointless.
However, Matthew Belloni of Puck has offered that the the part man, part machine, and all cop could become the subject of a bidding war in the very near future. As per the report, the rights for RoboCop are up for termination, which means they’ll revert back to the original holders if Amazon doesn’t strike a deal to retain them.
Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner wrote the initial script, sold it to producer Jon Davison, who then sold it to the now-defunct Orion Pictures, which was acquired by MGM in the aftermath, with the latter then making the 2014 version of RoboCop, before proceeding to do nothing with the brand since.
When you factor in the various distribution and streaming deals already in place for many MGM titles, it’s going to be a messy situation to untangle the red tape so that Amazon can begin rebooting, remaking, and sequelizing if that’s what the conglomerate desires.