'Robocop Returns' not moving forward with 'Wolf Like Me' creator

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Writer/director Abe Forsythe told UPI his Robocop Returns project is dead. Forsythe was hired in 2019 after Neil Blomkamp had been attached for a year.

"I really wish there was a way that my version of Robocop could be made," Forsythe told UPI in a Zoom interview for his Peacock show Wolf Like Me. "Unfortunately, there is an element in the script which will stop it from ever seeing the light of day."

Forsythe said he worked on Robocop Returns for a year and a half, meaning he's been sitting on this news since early 2021, long before the Writers Guild of America went on strike this year. Forsythe added that his intention was to have Peter Weller reprise his role of cyborg police officer Alex Murphy.

"It was a great way of bringing the character back, as well," Forsythe said. "This is why I'm really disappointed. It was the best way of re-, or continuing, the story of Murphy and of Peter Weller playing Murphy. Alas, it's not going to happen."

1987's Robocop starred Weller as Murphy, a Detroit cop killed in the line of duty. The OCP corporation uses his body and brain as the basis of their Robocop project.

Weller reprised the role in 1990's Robocop 2 but declined for 1993's Robocop 3. Robert John Burke played Murphy in the third film.

Two live-action TV series and an animated series followed. A 2014 remake starred Joel Kinnaman as Murphy.

Though there had been no update on the Robocop Returns film since 2019, Amazon bought MGM in 2022, who had acquired Orion in the '90s. Since the acquisition, Amazon has announced its own film and television interests in reviving Robocop, according to Deadline.

"I have to be careful of what I say and how I say it," Forsythe said. "My version can never ever be made."

Forsythe said his Robocop Returns paid homage to the original film from director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriters Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner.

"I spent a lot of time talking with Ed as I was working on the script," Forsythe said. "I feel like I ticked all the boxes for everyone."

UPI will publish Forsythe's Wolf Like Me interview ahead of Season 2 next week.