José Padilha Explains His Take On Robocop And Debunks Michael Fassbender Rumors!

In a new interview with The Playlist, Director José Padilha talks a little bit more about Robocop:

I never approached [‘RoboCop’] by looking at the first one, and asking myself what do I keep and what do I take away. I just looked at the concept of ‘RoboCop,’ and the concept of ‘RoboCop’ is very, very interesting. RoboCop is not a superhero – he is not a superhero. He is a man that’s turned into something else, by technology, and by a certain political perspective that’s being criticized in Verhoeven’s film, and by the media, too. So that idea, of a man that’s turned into something else for some purpose, appeals to me on its own regardless of the first film.

He said when he was asked about how his vision of the film will be.

I had a take on it, which I can’t tell you what it is because it would ruin the surprise of the film, but I presented this take to MGM and to Roger[Birnbaum] and John and Adam, and they’re great guys. And they loved it, so they said, ‘let’s make a film about it,’ so I’m like recreating the story based on that concept, that brilliant concept of changing a man with technology, automated systems, which is sort of a metaphor for what’s going on in society anyways.

He continued by talking about his take on the film.

I think the media needs a little criticizing now, as it did in the ‘80s, don’t you? Just look at what happened in the Bush era with the lack of criticism we’ve seen from most of it at the beginning of the Iraq invasion, and the sort of patriotic approach of the media that you couldn’t say anything against it. It’s high time we got a little acid criticism of that in my film – in ‘RoboCop’.

Padilha also said that the remake will have social commentary just like the original did.

I did this interview for the Dutch media, because Verhoeven is Dutch, and I was doing them for ‘Elite Squad’ which is opening there. And I’m being interviewed by these guys and they said, ‘so who is going to be RobCop?’

I said I don’t know, and after the guy asked the same question like ten times, I said, ‘there’s so many great new actors in American films, like Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine and so on.’ And all of a sudden I’ve called Fassbender out, but we haven’t even discussed this film. But it’s true – he’s a great actor. But they’re all great actors. So it’s from one sentence in one interview with a Dutch guy.

Padilha debunked that Michael Fassbender was a front runner for the movie, he insisted that the casting is still premature, and no one was approached for the role yet. Fassbender's name only came up as one possibility the discussion.