The upcoming reboot of Robocop – under the direction of José Padilha – will offer a new perspective on the popular franchise by focusing on the protagonist’s transformation from man to machine.
Padilha’s roots are in Spanish-language documentaries. He also helmed the action-oriented Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, which became the best selling film in Brazilian history.
However, Padilha stated that he won’t be using the opportunity to bring more South American actors to Hollywood, saying that it was important for Robocop and his friends to be North American, or the message doesn’t make as much sense.
Of course, the setting of Detroit, Michigan will also be retained.
It was expected that the usually political director will make the film into a social commentary of sorts, but before now it was unknown if this would be serious commentary or tongue-in-cheek parody, like the original.
Recently, Padilha sat down with the UK-based Telegraph, and we got our answer.
“The satire element of RoboCop is, I think, needed today,” he told the magazine. “That kind of social, aggressive satire I haven’t seen done well in movies lately. And it’s almost like the politics and violence in the world is asking for this: ‘Someone please make some satire now!’ So we’re going to keep that edge.”
Well, he may not have worked in Hollywood before, but his resume certainly supports the making of a violent-spectacle parody. The more I hear from Padihla about this upcoming film, the more I look forward to it.
No cast announcements have yet been made for RoboCop, which is slated to hit theaters in 2013.
