We Almost Had Neill Blomkamp Directing "Robocop Returns"

“Robocop” is one of those cult classics that is laced with the flavor of unbridled 90s movies. Even by today’s standards, it’s horror-movie gory. But that’s one of the reasons people love it. And it’s seen its fair share of revivals, remakes, and cartoons. In 2018 it was announced that “Robocop” would be getting a sequel film, “Robocop Returns.” Heading up that doomed project was Neill Blomkamp (“District 9,” “Chappie“).

Blomkamp’s flare for the dystopian seemed to make him a shoe-in for creating a gritty, bleak universe to encapsulate the titular cyborg. However, a year later, Blomkamp was off the project. In a recent interview, he shared a bit about what his film would have looked like. Which might be an unexpected answer.

Only The Next Day For Alex Murphy

“That’s the only film that I would have ever done where I would have tried to basically simulate Paul Verhoeven’s directing style,” Blomkamp said. “I wanted it to feel like it was the day after. Like if Dick Jones fell out of the window on Monday, this would have been Tuesday. It was like literally the next morning that it began. So it was a direct sequel exactly in the same style.” So he would’ve taken a step out of his usual fare, to try and do the original film’s sequel justice, sticking with the original vision’s sensibilities.

Apparently Ed Neumeier, the original writer of the film, confirmed that “Robocop Returns“‘ concept was to be based on an original sequel script written by him in 1988. That’s the story that Blomkamp would be reviving. So it makes total sense that he would have wished to stick as closely to the source material in look and concept as possible. It’s fun to think about what could have been.

Also, there was that “Alien 3” project Blomkamp was working on, which was going to be a true sequel to “Aliens.” It sadly also never got made, even though Ripley herself (Sigourney Weaver) was excited for it.

With the current strikes on, there’s no real telling what’s in the future for cyborg Alex Murphy. We’ll just have to wait and see.