MGM has signed Darren Aronofsky to direct and David Self to write a new installment for its ROBOCOP franchise. Aronofsky, the director of THE FOUNTAIN, and Self, the writer of ROAD TO PERDITION, will get ROBOCOP into theaters in 2010.
Phoenix Pictures' Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and David Thwaites will produce ROBOCOP. Cale Boyter, Exec VP Production at MGM will oversee the project for the studio.
Aronofsky's credits include PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and THE FOUNTAIN. He is completing the feature, THE WRESTLER with Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Self's credits include 13 DAYS and GOD OF WAR for Universal, to which Brett Ratner is attached to direct, and was a writer on Universal's WOLFMAN currently in production.
The original ROBOCOP, which premiered in 1987, was "part man, part machine and all cop." The film's storyline focused on the future of law enforcement as a terminally wounded cop returns to the police force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories. The original film was nominated for two Academy Awards -- Best Film Editing and Best Sound. Since the film's debut, ROBOCOP has become one of the most successful titles in MGM's film library. The franchise continues as a worldwide phenomenon, especially in the U.S., Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. ROBOCOP, ROBOCOP 2, and ROBOCOP 3 have sold approximately 4.1 million gross DVD units worldwide.
