Hugh Laurie out of Robocop, Clive Owen to replace him?

Hugh Laurie was never confirmed to join the cast of the ROBOCOP remake coming next year but now he is “definitely out”. Rumors had him playing the villain of the film while other reports listed him as playing the head of the facility where Murphy would be transformed into the titular ROBOCOP.

Deadline reports that there is a small group of actors being considered to fill Laurie’s role, including Clive Owen. Seeing as Owen and Laurie share physical similarities, the change would be fairly transparent. If anything, Owen would make me more excited for the movie than Laurie did.

ROBOCOP already boasts an impressive cast that includes THE KILLING’s Joel Kinnaman in the lead along with ary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jackie Earle Haley, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle and Michael K. Williams. Director Jose Padilha already has enough on his plate satiating fans of the original film while making something fresh for today’s audiences. If the TOTAL RECALL remake is any indication, they should try and stay closer to the original source.

ROBOCOP will hit theaters in 2013.