The world needs a Robocop as much as it needs a Spider-Man
Back when Amazon announced its purchase of MGM Studios, one of the reasons for the purchase was for its library of valuable IP. One of the titles mentioned in every media release was RoboCop.
And rightfully so. Years of crummy sequel movies, a reboot, and a mostly-forgotten TV series has put a dent in the legacy of what is one of the great genre movies from the 80s. It is a film that still holds up very well, with its core premise of capitalist forces supercharging policing with cutting-edge technology and the ethics of that as those impacts are felt through the community.
That’s an idea which has never not been relevant, but it is especially timely in the current moment in this post George Floyd, #DefundThePolice era where conversations about police resourcing and powers are a regular mainstream concern.
Today Amazon MGM Studios have confirmed that it has greenlit a Robocop series for Prime Video, with an eight-episode order from production house Atomic Monster. Peter Ocko is on board as showrunner, with James Wan among the executive producers alongside original creators Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner. You can read more about the new show at THR.
The 2014 RoboCop remake feature film failed largely because the film didn’t have anything to say. Ahead of release, director José Padilha talked about the intention to comment on international drone warfare through the film, but the movie as released had none of that expected scathing commentary.
For the new Robocop to work, it really needs to make sure that it is being true to the spirit of the premise, which involves having something to say about the way capitalism corrupts law enforcement. Will Amazon MGM be brave enough to commit to taking that conversation as far as it needs to? It’s a more complicated IP than Legally Blonde.
If this year’s US box office has shown us anything, it’s that audiences right now are not looking for watered down IP efforts that has nothing of relevance to say. Audiences are turning up for movies like Backrooms, Obsession, The Drama, The Odyssey, Michael, and Hoppers in unexpectedly large numbers. It’s where the energy and enthusiasm has been this year.
There is still a place for large spectacle IP Super Mario Galaxy, Project Hail Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and Toy Story 5 were all huge, but then there are films like Supergirl and The Mandalorian & Grogu that failed to meet expectation. There’s a narrative that audiences are being a lot more selective this year.
Is it that they are seeking a more auteurist approach to filmmaking? I think that might just be some Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey-coloured glasses at play, but I do feel in my bones that audiences are looking for media that is more reflective of humanity and relatable experiences.
Supergirl failed because it offered the promise… the vibe… of a relatable hard-drinking girl, but then served up a pretty tired spectacle that never spoke authentically to that experience.
Which brings us to Spidey.
Yesterday delivered the first trailer for this year’s Avengers Doomsday film, which delivered the same tired spectacle we saw from the pre-COVID Avengers film. That film, scheduled to release against Dune 3 (Dun3?), is not a sure thing at the box office in the way previous Avengers films were.
But Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be a sure thing. And I think the reason is right there at the very start of the new trailer released this morning.
The narration begins: “Hi. My name is Peter Parker. I have something to tell you that’s going to sound crazy. But it’s the truth.” The trailer then leans into the relationships he has with his girlfriend and best friend.
And bam. That’s why audiences will be there to hand over a billion dollars plus worldwide.
He’s relatable. He has relationships that feel tangible and audiences can connect with them. It’s not any more complicated than that.
Today in his Substack, Scott Mendelson wrote:
The message is clear: This is not an MCU movie that happens to feature Spider-Man. This Spider-Man movie treats its tangential existence within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as, at best, topical seasoning. That is how Disney previously sold solo MCU franchise flicks like Thor: The Dark World, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man and the Wasp as 95% standalone films that required little MCU lore beyond having seen the big team-up flicks. That’s a huge reason why the “Infinity Saga” films flourished while a decade’s worth of MCU pretenders crashed (The Mummy) and burned (King Arthur). Even compared to those 2010s success stories, Sony’s Brand New Day teasers, posters and trailers treat the MCU not as an added-value element, but rather as akin to the one kid your parents forced you to invite to your birthday whom you hope won’t embarrass you in front of your actual friends.
I’d take this line of thinking one step further and just point out that Spidey’s actual friends are MJ and Ned and that it is these genuine connections to the real world that makes Spider-Man so attractive as a character.
As an aside, this is also why Superman works as a character – his strength and abilities are pretty generic amid the tights and fights superhero comic characters, but his grounding with characters like Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White, among others, is what made that character compelling over eighty years.
I have a theory that one of the elements that will power box office for the new Spidey film will be the new generation of kids who have come on board between movies as fans of hit cartoon Spidey & His Amazing Friends. The three to five year-old fans of that cartoon when it launched will now be the right age to start seeing big action adventure films at the cinema. Don’t underestimate how big that show is on Disney and how loyal its audience is.
And what is it about Spidey & His Amazing Friends that ties into what I’m talking about here? It’s right there in the title. The cartoon is about Spidey and his friends (Gwen and Miles) teaming up to tackle adventure and crime. They’ll regularly team up with other Marvel heroes to take on Marvel villains and what to all of these characters have in common? They all have feelings and concerns that are dealt with during the short runtime of every episode.
It is all made relatable to the audience. It’s not conceptual or big-brained Grant Morrison-level hypertime. It is tangible and connected to the experience of the audience.
Audiences are looking for screen experiences that they can connect to, related to their own lived experience. We have seen everything that special effects can offer us. There are no screen tricks that will wow us anymore.
We have a new generation of viewers that are looking to connect their screen-time with their humanity.
News Desk
A Whitney Cummings joke about Donald Trump was cut from the Mark Twain Prize ceremony honouring Bill Maher when it hit Netflix — but the streamer says it was the Kennedy Center that was responsible. Read: THR
Eli Roth‘s Paul Giamatti-led Hostel series has been passed over by Peacock, with the creative now being redeveloped as a theatrical feature, with Giamatti still expected to star. Read: Dark Horizons
BBC staff are understandably pissed, confronting leadership at a town hall over a below-inflation 1% pay rise and looming job cuts. They also questioned the expense of a new licence-fee ad campaign starring Romesh Ranganathan. Read: Deadline
Ed Harris says he felt misled about the size of his role inYellowstone spin-off Dutton Ranch, saying he was ready to say “get me the f*** out of here” midway through season one after being promised he’d be one of four leads. I was surprised watching the first episode when he appeared on screen. Read: Radio Times
Disney+ is making an international version of ABC News‘ 20/20 franchise for the UK, with a six-part UK docuseries titled 20/20 Britain’s Most Notorious Crime Investigations. It reopens cases including Joanna Yeates, Ben Field and Jane Andrews. I don’t understand why Disney isn’t further exploiting its IP for international versions, both reality and news formats, along with scripted. Why isn’t there an Australian remake of The Parent Trap, for example?. Read: Deadline
Dynamite Entertainment has launched a DuckTales Kickstarter for a five-volume omnibus spanning nearly 40 years of comics. Read: Bleeding Cool
Trailer Park
LEGO has a new The X-Files LEGO Ideas set released to the general public from August 4. It’ll cost US $199.
Umthetho debuts on Netflix August 14.
To keep their youngest brother alive, an idealistic state prosecutor is forced to become a double agent in her imprisoned older brother's gang.
Take a Hike! debuts on Netflix August 18.
Dragged into the freezing cold, beginner hikers Car, the garden, DOWOON, Lee Chae-min, and TARZZAN face the brutal reality of a snowy mountain climb.
Japanese reality show Badly in Love returns for season 2 on Netflix August 4.
Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie debuts on the US Hulu alongside both seasons of the TV show. It isn’t clear whether this will also be available internationally.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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