RoboCop Is Officially Reporting for Duty Again With a New Prime Video Series From James Wan

Amazon has spent the past few years quietly building out an entire slate of projects mining MGM’s back catalog for franchise potential, and one of its most iconic properties has finally crossed the finish line into full series production. Fans of classic 1980s science fiction have plenty of reason to be excited about what comes next.

The project had been rumored and lingering in development for years, following Amazon’s 2022 acquisition of MGM and its deep well of intellectual property. That patience has now officially paid off with a formal series order and a full creative team locked into place.

Prime Video has officially given a straight-to-series order for a new ‘RoboCop‘ television adaptation, greenlighting eight episodes for its debut season. The project has been quietly developing since Amazon’s MGM acquisition, with the streamer looking to capitalize on the studio’s extensive library for both film and television projects.

The series follows the same basic premise that made the original film such a cultural touchstone. According to the official logline, a giant tech conglomerate convinces a city to place a powerful robot on its police force, a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved fallen officer.

Peter Ocko, known for his work on ‘Lodge 49’ and ‘Pushing Daisies,’ serves as the series’ writer, showrunner and executive producer. Horror veteran James Wan joins as an executive producer through his Blumhouse Atomic Monster banner, alongside fellow executive producers Michael Clear and Rob Hackett.

Wan spoke about his personal connection to the material while discussing the announcement. He told Deadline that being a lifelong fan of RoboCop made helping bring the world to television feel like a genuine dream come true, adding that Paul Verhoeven’s original vision remains just as relevant today given its themes around technology and corporate power.

Ed Neumeier, co-creator and co-writer of the original 1987 film, has also joined the production as an executive producer, giving the reboot a direct creative link back to the source material. Danielle Bozzone of Blumhouse Atomic Monster rounds out the executive producing team as co-executive producer.

Amazon MGM’s head of global television, Peter Friedlander, spoke about the significance of revisiting the property after nearly four decades of cultural relevance. He described the franchise as having always served as a sharp, provocative mirror of society’s relationship with technology and power, crediting Ocko’s vision for honoring that legacy while building something fresh for today’s audiences.

Verhoeven’s original film starred Peter Weller as Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer murdered in the line of duty before being reconstructed by a corporation as a cyborg enforcer. The satirical action classic became known for its biting commentary on privatization and corporate greed, themes the new series will need to find its own contemporary angle on.

This will not be the franchise’s first attempt at television, following a short-lived 1994 series and a 2001 live-action miniseries called ‘RoboCop: Prime Directives,’ neither of which managed to recapture the original film’s cultural impact. The franchise has also seen mixed results across its theatrical sequels, including 1990’s ‘RoboCop 2,’ 1993’s ‘RoboCop 3,’ and the 2014 remake starring Joel Kinnaman.

RoboCop joins a growing list of MGM properties Amazon has moved into series development, following projects like the Legally Blonde prequel ‘Elle’ and ‘Barbershop,’ both also produced for Prime Video. With a strong creative team now firmly in place and direct ties back to the franchise’s original creators, this new take on the cybernetic crimefighter carries genuine potential to reintroduce the character to a whole new generation of viewers.

What do you think about RoboCop getting a new series adaptation on Prime Video? Let us know in the comments.