RoboCop Remake on Hold, Aronofsky Out?

Published by Jeff Leins on: January 7th, 2010

The remake of RoboCop may be on hold due to MGM’s major financial issues and director Darren Aronofsky’s unwillingness to use Hollywood’s new favorite tool, 3D.

According to the RoboCop Archive (via MovieHole), the rumor is Mary Parent, Chairperson of MGM, wants 3D used on the re-imagining — no surprise there, considering the 3D excitement surrounding Cameron’s Avatar — while Aronofsky “wants to do everything as real (organic) as possible just like The Fountain.” Since Aronofsky is still wading through the production of Fox Searchlight’s Black Swan, the release date delay to 2011 probably has more to do with his busy schedule and MGM’s crippling debt than anything else.

MGM continues to “teeter on the brink of bankruptcy,” reports Nikki Finke, despite recent developments on the two Hobbit movies and the hiring of Sam Mendes for Bond 23.  Since those two are the studio’s main franchises, it’s only natural they kept those afloat while potential corporate bidders “kick the tires” on absorbing their $4 billion debt.

Aronofsky has been vocal about not using the 3-D “gimmick” to enhance making movies.  In June 2009, this is pre-Avatar mind you, the filmmaker said, “It doesn’t represent reality better than 35mm cameras – I’m not sold on it” before acknowledging that he couldn’t wait to see what Cameron had done with it.

His hiring in July 2008 was intriguing choice and spelled an entirely new vision for the cyborg cop series.  Aronofsky wanted to take the sci-fi story in a “noir direction,” likely with a bleak, violent tone, and since it’s only RoboCop no one seemed to mind.  His take on Batman was dismissed as “too dark” by Warner Bros years ago, so you can imagine the sort of ideas he had for this half-man/half-machine.  Unfortunately, judging from the delays and Aronofsky’s growing slate of potential projects, he’s likely moved on by now.