RoboCop (franchise)

The RoboCop franchise, began in 1987 with the film RoboCop. RoboCop 2, followed in 1990 and RoboCop 3 in 1993. There have also been various television series, video game and comic book adaptations. The franchise has made over $109,715,854 USD worldwide.

Films

• RoboCop (1987)
• RoboCop 2 (1990)
• RoboCop 3 (1993)

Future

Sony Pictures (Screen Gems division) was working on a new RoboCop film in late 2005. No details were revealed other than the unofficial (and confirmed) announcement. In November 2006, Bloody Disgusting reported that the RoboCop remake had been halted.

In March 2008, however, RoboCop was mentioned in an MGM press release regarding franchises it would be developing in the future. An MGM poster displayed at the Licensing International Expo of June 2008 read, "RoboCop coming 2010." The studio met with Darren Aronofsky to discuss the possibility of his directing the film. At the San Diego Comic-Con 2008, Aronofsky was confirmed to direct the "2010 RoboCop" film, with David Self writing the script. However, the release date was postponed to 2011.

On July 23, 2009, at the San Diego Comic-Con 2009 MGM was clearly present at the convention but when questions were asked about the RoboCop 2010 film, MGM representatives confirmed that there would be no promotion or information concerning the film at the convention that year except the confirmation that the movie would be pushed back to a summer 2010 or a later date, due to conflicting projects with the director (Darren Aronofsky). When asked if Aronofsky was still being considered or had been signed to direct the film, MGM representatives said they could neither confirm nor deny if Mr. Aronofsky was still connected with the project at that time.

On January 5, 2010 the film and entertainment website Moviehole reported that the Robocop 2011 remake was indeed on hold and Darren Aronofsky was still attached to direct. However, once MGM executives, particularly Mary Parent the chairperson of MGM, saw the immense success of the James Cameron film Avatar it was clear to the higher-ups that they wanted a 3D film for the new Robocop. Due to the current financial state of MGM, without an owner, and the disagreements between the studio and Aronofsky, the film was still left on hold until those issues get resolved.

On February 18, 2011, MGM announced that they still had plans for the RoboCop remake. On March 02, 2011, it was announced that Brazilian director José Padilha was attached to direct, instead of Darren Aronofsky, mainly because of his commercial success with The Elite Squad and The Elite Squad 2.

On March 11, 2011, Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club stated that up-and-coming screenwriter Joshua Zetumer would create the script. Although Zetumer has been involved with a number of canceled or otherwise stagnant projects, he also worked writing for the blockbuster Quantum Of Solace.

On April 12, 2011, screenrant.com reported on rumors that MGM was looking at A-List stars such as Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves to star in the lead role of Alex Murphy/Robocop in the upcoming remake.

On June 16, 2011, entertainment website Comingsoon.net released pictures of promotional art and a sales 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 is targeting a 2013 release and Jose Padilha of Elite Squad and Bus 174 fame is confirmed as director of the film.

On March 3, 2012 it was confirmed that actor Joel Kinnaman will be playing the lead role of Alex James Murphy/Robocop. On March 9th, it was given a release date of August 9th, 2013.

Television series

Live action

• RoboCop: The Series (1994) which starred Richard Eden, Yvette Nipar, and Andrea Roth.
• RoboCop: Prime Directives (2000) - A four-part television mini-series, continuing the storyline from the film series; producers used footage from the original Robocop (1987) film.

Animated

• RoboCop: The Animated Series (1988)
• RoboCop: Alpha Commando (1998-1999)

Inspired by RoboCop

In 1989, Toei Company of Japan created a series similar to, and based on, RoboCop, called Kidou Keiji Jiban (Mobile Detective Jiban), part of the Metal Hero TV series franchise. They did the same in 1993 with Tokusou Robo Janperson (Special Investigator Robot Janperson). The former's similarity was in concept (a police officer revived as a cyborg, but specifically to fight a mutant criminal element); the latter's was in appearance (Janperson's head design greatly resembled RoboCop's, yet was otherwise closer to 1973's Robotto Keiji (Robot Detective)).

Video games

Main article: RoboCop (video games)

Various licensed video games for various arcade and home console systems were released

• RoboCop (1988–1989)
• RoboCop 2 (1990–1991)
• RoboCop 3 (1993)
• RoboCop 3D (1993)
• RoboCop versus The Terminator (1993–1994)
• RoboCop (2003)

In 1990, Data East released a pinball machine based on the film.

Comic books

Main article: RoboCop (comics)

Various publishers have released RoboCop comic books:

• RoboCop (Marvel Comics, 1990–1992) - 23 issues, plus adaptations of the first two movies.
• RoboCop versus The Terminator (Dark Horse Comics, 1992) which was also a video game and almost a movie.
• RoboCop (Dark Horse Comics, 1992-?)
• RoboCop (Avatar Press, 2003–2006) - 9 issues.

Recurring elements

Omni Consumer Products

Omni Consumer Products

Type	corporation and laboratory
Founder(s)	The "Old Man"
Headquarters	Detroit and Delta City, Michigan
Products	Consumer products Space exploration Urban Pacification Tools Military grade weaponry Food products Private government

Omni Consumer Products (OCP) is a fictional megacorporation in the RoboCop franchise. It creates products for virtually every consumer need, has entered into endeavors normally deemed non-profit, and even manufactured an entire city to be maintained exclusively by the corporation. OCP is a modern example of the longstanding trope of the evil megacorporation in science fiction.

OCP is depicted as a megacorporation with divisions affecting nearly every level of consumer need, society, and government. Their products range from consumer products to military weaponry and private space travel. Their projects included the RoboCop, the ED-209, and the RoboCop 2 cyborg. OCP owns and operates a privatized Detroit Police Department and have been known to employ criminals to achieve their goals.

OCP, throughout its depictions in the RoboCop films, has sought to fully privatize Detroit, Michigan into Delta City, a manufactured municipality governed by a corporatocracy, with fully privatized services — such as police — and with residents exercising their representative citizenship through the purchase of shares of OCP stock. They also serve as part of the military-industrial complex; according to OCP executive Richard "Dick" Jones, "We practically are the military." Jones observes in RoboCop that OCP has "gambled in markets traditionally regarded as non-profit: hospitals, prisons, space exploration. I say good business is where you find it."

In RoboCop 3, OCP is bought by a Japanese Zaibatsu, the Kanemitsu corporation. As a Kanemitsu subsidiary, OCP remains in charge of the destruction of old Detroit and the construction of Delta City. By the end of the movie, OCP's brutal policies concerning Delta City are brought to light, many of OCP's majority shareholders sell their stock, and OCP itself is forced into bankruptcy.

By the time of RoboCop: Prime Directives, OCP is shown being manipulated by a brash young executive who, through murder and reallocation of resources, ascends to power to automate Delta City under a new artificial intelligence. This is manipulated by a cyberterrorist, who seeks the destruction of the human race through a virus that can be introduced to computers and human beings alike.

ED 209

ED-209
RoboCop character
The ED-209 in RoboCop
First appearance	RoboCop
Created by	Ed Neumeier Michael Miner
Voiced by	Jon Davison
Information
Manufacturer	Omni Consumer Products

The Enforcement Droid Series 209, or ED-209, is a fictional robot in the RoboCop franchise. The ED-209 serves as a heavily-armed obstacle and foil for the series' titular character, as well as a source of comic relief due to its lack of intelligence and tendency towards clumsy malfunctions.

The ED-209 was designed by Craig Davies, who also built the full size models, and animated by Phil Tippett, a veteran stop-motion animator. Davies and Tippett would go on to collaborate on many more projects. As one of the setpieces of the movie, the ED-209’s look and animated sequences were under the close supervision of director Paul Verhoeven, who sometimes acted out the robot's movements himself.

The ED-209 is featured in every RoboCop major motion picture, while it is missing from the series’ direct-to-video releases and the television series (although an ED with a different model number is present).

Theme park ride

SimEx-iWerks (formerly iWerks Entertainment) opened RoboCop: The Ride around the world at its various iWerks Motion Simulator Theaters, amusement parks, and casinos in the winter of 1995. The "Turbo Ride," as it was dubbed, was a "ride simulation" which could accommodate between 20-30 riders depending on the size of the theater where synchronized hydraulically-activated seats with an over-sized screen displaying the projection, putting the audience right in the middle of the movie action. The ride focused on you partnering with RoboCop in where you and Robo would ride souped-up police motorcycles on a mission to save the mayor of Detroit from the clutches of the vicious Cyberpunk ROM and his gang of villains. In the latter part of the ride the bike would then convert into hover mode where you and Robo would fly through the skyline of New Detroit using rockets that jettisoned from the back sides of the motorcycle. Though not as impressive or technical-savvy as other iWerks attractions at the time, due to the enduring popularity of the character the ride was very popular amongst children and teenagers and especially in foreign markets outside of North America. The ride was a mixture of motion picture film and computer animation which lasted approximately 4:00 minutes, the cost in the United States was $5.00 USD to ride at pay-per-ride theaters. The ride was removed from the iWerks theaters in the North American market in 1998.

Other

• Montreal hard rock band Priestess' song from their 2009 album Prior to the Fire, "Murphy's Law," was written about the movie RoboCop, which is singer Mikey Hepner's favorite movie.
• RoboCop is the name of a song by Kanye West
• Thrash Metal band Gama Bomb have a song entitled OCP, which features lyrics composed entirely of quotes from the first film.
• Massachusetts-based Thrash Metal group Lich King's album World Gone Dead features a track entitled ED-209, which includes dialogue from the first film.
• Season 2 of the show Breaking_In_(TV_series) features a takeover by OCP - Omni Consumer Products.

External links

• RoboCop Wiki at Wikia