We’re now at the stage where the MGM-powered remake of Robocop is ploughing ahead in the casting process and has scored a big name in the shape of Gary Oldman.
The actor (and Jameson Empire Award winner) will be seen on screen this summer helping another iconic hero in The Dark Knight Rises, and now he’s signed on to play Norton, a scientist who takes the battered, bullet-ridden, all-but-dead body of police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) and rebirths him as the cyborg future of law enforcement.
Though there wasn’t a featured role for a scientist in the original (the sequels explored the idea a little more), it sounds as though director Jose Padilha and current writer James Vanderbilt are exploring similar territory to Paul Verhoeven’s film, with Norton struggling to balance Murphy’s ideals with the grasping corporate needs of the company – most likely OCP – that provides the funding for the project.
With the movie tentatively set to arrive next summer, Padilha and his team will be gearing up a shoot this August in Toronto.
As well as Christopher Nolan’s latest (due, of course, on July 20) Oldman will also be seen in Lawless, Motor City and Paranoia.