RoboCop (franchise) The franchise has made over US$100 million worldwide and a fourth installment, a remake serving as a reboot titled "RoboCop," was released in February 2014. RoboCop is a 1987 American cyberpunk action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, "RoboCop" centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop". The film features Peter Weller, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer, and Ronny Cox. In addition to being an action film, "RoboCop" includes larger themes regarding the media, resurrection, gentrification, corruption,
RoboCop (2014 film) sheet from the Licensing International Expo 2011 in Las Vegas, NV, promoting a future release of "RoboCop" which would re-invent the franchise. The promotional material had sparse details of the film but clearly stated that MGM was targeting a 2013 release and José Padilha of "Elite Squad" and "Bus 174" fame was confirmed as director of the film. Michael Fassbender, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Russell Crowe were considered to play the title role. On March 3, 2012, it was confirmed that actor Joel Kinnaman would be playing the lead role, and on March 9, 2012, the film was given a release