Hugh Laurie to Play Villain in 'RoboCop' Remake
Actor Hugh Laurie has signed on to play the villainous CEO of Omni Corp in a remake of the 1980s classic "RoboCop." The movie will be one of the first acts by Laurie after the end of his hit series "House."
Laurie ended the Fox series in May, after an 8-year run that attracted over 81 million viewers. He won two Golden Globes and two SAG awards, among others, and fans are hopeful that he will finally win an Emmy, which is one of the few awards he does not have.
"Robocop," which has a $100 million budget, is set to be released next year and will feature Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson and Abbie Cornish. It is only one of the latest in a series of revivals for fans. "Spider Man" and "The Dark Knight" will be releasing this year and have already generated a lot of excitement among fans.
"Okay, I was not on board with this ROBOCOP remake at all until now, but now I have two words for you. Hugh. Laurie," tweeted Gary Whitta.
"Hugh Laurie to play Robocop villain- so much join in one short headline," added Diana Best.
"Robocop" was originally produced in 1987 and starred Peter Weller as the title character, also known as Officer Alex J. Murphy. The film was produced for only $13 million and brought in over $53 million in revenue and immense popularity.
Just last year, Detroit residents campaigned and raised enough money to have a RoboCop statue placed in their city as a symbol of prosperity and rejuvenation. While there was some skepticism as to whether the statute would actually be built, it was announced this past April that RoboCop would, indeed, be coming back to Detroit.
There's no word yet on when "RoboCop" the remake will officially be released, but the excitement is already there.