He’s played a killing machine, a mad scientist creating killing machines, a crook who runs afoul of a vampire, King Kong’s personal veterinarian, a serial killer, a horny alien, a psychiatric patient battling supernatural intrusions, and a Beast—to name just a few of Dan Stevens’ roles to date. But he’s adding maybe his most iconic one yet to that list, since he’s just been cast as the lead in Amazon Prime Video’s RoboCop series.
Variety reports Stevens has come aboard the long-in-the-works adaptation of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi action movie, about a fallen cop (Peter Weller) who is unwittingly revived as a cyborg with only fleeting memories of his former life. Though the movie was already a dystopian tale when it was released nearly 40 years ago, it’s since gotten even more timely with its themes about sinister corporations, corruption in law enforcement, and the struggle to hold onto humanity in an increasingly tech-oriented world.
RoboCop sparked multiple sequels and a 2014 reboot film starring For All Mankind‘s Joel Kinnaman; it’s also had previous small-screen versions in both animated and live-action forms. Peter Ocko (Lodge 49, The Office, Moonhaven) is the writer, executive producer, and showrunner of Prime Video’s latest version; the official logline is as follows:
“A giant tech conglomerate convinces the city to place a powerful robot on its police force—a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved, fallen officer (Stevens).”
Casting Stevens feels like a huge boost to the show, since he’s an actor who tends to pick interesting projects—which he then makes even more interesting with his uniquely tailored performances. Are you excited to see him as RoboCop?
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