Darren Aronofsky actually adapting Robocop?!

After the trio of prestige art films (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), most people thought they had Darren Aronofsky pegged. Then this year he decided to make a film called The Wrestler, and cast seemingly washed-up actor Mickey Rourke in the title role. The film earned rave reviews at last week's Toronto International Film Festival, and won the top award at the Venice Film Festival. But turns out that was just the beginning of the surprises Aronofosky has in store for us. According to reports, Aronofsky has finished up his script for an original version of Robocop. As in, this Robocop, a 1987 movie whose tagline was: "Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement."

Aronofosky has been a name that's been thrown around to direct a number of tentpole franchises over the years, including directing his own relaunching of Batman based on Frank Miller's Batman: Year One comics. So perhaps Robocop shouldn't have come as quite a shock.

"What I like...is that Hollywood is making big films right now and I’ve always had an interest in that. The thing I like about Robocop is that it’s not as iconic as those other titles, and I think that fans of it will be open to reinterpretation. And yet a studio will probably back it because it’s got that tentpole feeling to it," Aronofsky told /Film. "I’ve always had an interest in doing big movies, and not just doing independent films."

And turns out, Mr. Rachel Weisz (Aronofsky is engaged to the Oscar-winner) is a huge Robocop geek. His version will be a "complete reimagining" set in the future and unrelated to the original (or its 1990 sequel). The next step is getting a studio to back the likely-costly project, something Aronofsky shouldn't have trouble doing given the buzz surrounding The Wrestler. The sports drama, co-starring Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, was sold to Fox Searchlight for $4 million and has nailed down an Oscar-friendly release date of Dec. 19. Critics have lavished an exuberant amount of praise on the film, so don't be surprised come January to hear the phrase "Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke" or even "Academy Award nominee Darren Aronofsky."

"An elemental story simply and brilliantly told, Darren Aronofsky's fourth feature is a winner from every possible angle," Variety critic Todd McCarthy said in his review. "...Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances."

Meanwhile, Aronofsky has a number of other projects gestating that may film before Robocop. Mark Wahlberg is currently training to star in The Fighter, a story about real-life Irish boxer Micky Ward. Brad Pitt will supposedly star as his trainer and older brother. And Aronofsky is curiously developing a big-budget version of the story of Noah and the Ark. At this point, nothing Aronofsky does should surprise us.

Related links:
News: Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler picks up a distributor
News: Bruce Springsteen pens tune for Darren Aronofsky
Feature: The Fountain of Youth

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