Corporate slime-ball Dick Jones to be the focus of a Robocop prequel series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Finally! A Robocop story without that troublesome Robocop; it's what we've all been waiting for. Although the idea of a Robocop story without its title character may seem a little strange, that's precisely what ROBOCOP co-writer Ed Neumeier is in the midst of developing. While speaking with MovieHole, Neumeier revealed that he's working on a TV series about the rise of Omni Consumer Products centered around everyone's favourite corporate slime-ball, Dick Jones.

I’m working at MGM on it. It has all the cool stuff about RoboCop except no RoboCop. I’m working with these two writers, Dave Parkin and Rob Gibbs, who bought this idea to a TV producer friend of mine, who then brought it to me. The first time I heard it I knew it was a cool idea because I could see a lot of things you could do with it. It’s such an interesting character.

Dick Jones was memorably played by the great Ronny Cox in the original ROBOCOP film, and Ed Neumeier said that getting to follow a younger version of the character will be interesting because "nobody necessarily starts out being the bad guy." Sort of a sci-fi spin on Breaking Bad. "So it’s going to be about the evolution of Richard Jones to Dick Jones, the story of OCP and how the world moves into the future, how the corporate world behaves," explained Neumeier. The whole project is still a ways off as Neumeier said that they still have to convince MGM to let them make a pilot. What do you folks think, are you down for a Robocop-less Robocop series?

We may have more ROBOCOP in our future as Abe Forsythe, who helmed Lupita Nyong'o's zombie comedy LITTLE MONSTERS, has been tapped by MGM to direct ROBOCOP RETURNS, a new film that is being developed as a direct sequel to the original Paul Verhoeven film. The project was once in the hands of Neill Blomkamp (DISTRICT 9), but he dropped out last year due to scheduling conflicts. "I am shooting new horror/thriller and MGM can’t wait/ need to shoot Robocop now," Blomkamp said on Twitter. "Excited to watch it in theaters with other fans."