In 1987, Paul Verhoeven and Orion Pictures created RoboCop, a cut-throat, R-Rated, action/sci fi classic and one of the coolest movies ever made. A runaway train on fire destined to create a franchise audiences couldn’t get enough of. The problem that shouldn’t have been a problem is that it happened to sell a hell of a lot of toys. Six years later when it came time to create the third film in the franchise, Orion Pictures altered course, opting for a more family friendly approach. They demanded their newest sequel be more palatable to an audience buying the merchandise of their now household characters. Even included an pre-emptive advertisement on the back of a RoboCop 2 Game Boy box that promises the next RoboCop adventure would be “for all age groups”. It was a course that would jump that same train off the tracks, over the proverbial shark, and into the fiery pit of movie Hell. Stepping on the throat of the franchise theatrically for more than twenty years. Causing one of the greatest comic book writers of all time to abandon Hollywood for over a decade. And essentially killing the directorial career of a talented up and coming cult horror filmmaker. Dead or alive, you’re coming with me on this horrid journey of what happened to RoboCop 3.
Just before the release of RoboCop 2 an apparently confident Orion Pictures greenlit not just one but two more sequels. They again reached out to famed comic book creator and RoboCop 2 writer Frank Miller for writing duties. Miller accepted, hoping to finally be able to incorporate and expand on some of his ideas that had been kept out of RoboCop 2. Unfortunately, his work would end up being gutted so mightily, he left Hollywood and didn’t return to work on a feature film again until 2005’s Sin City. The Dark Knight Returns writer learned he could not be succesful as a movie writer when the ultimate control would be in the director and or studio’s hands. He equated his screenplay to a fire hydrant with a row of dogs waiting around the block. You know….to piss on it. Boom Studios were able to release a nine-part comic book series telling his intended story. The series, titled RoboCop: Last Stand, retained Miller’s satire fueled ultra-violent vision. Remaining more in line with Verhoeven’s original. It features a different narrative structure and a more coherent story. There are deeper themes of corporate corruption and a more personal look into the existential crisis Robo is fighting inside what’s left of his mind. The comic series further explores Robocop’s relationship with Jill Hennessy’s Dr. Marie Lazarus, as well as showing the far more ruthless nature of John Castle’s villain, McDaggett. No spoilers here, but even the ending in the comic series is also far darker than what we received in this trilogy crapper (cough) capper. And you’re probably about to hear this next line a lot in today’s video….didn’t align with the family tone Orion Pictures were demanding.
In a further kick to the Robo-d*ck, Peter Weller wouldn’t return for the sequel as he was busy working with visionary director David Cronenberg on a film called Naked Lunch. Though you may have thought he just had no interest in the project (after being unhappy with the way RoboCop 2 turned out), Weller originally met with Dekker and wanted to return. Which, is surprising. The thought that the very particular actor was alright with the idea of his character awkwardly flying to the rescue on a jet pack in a film with the budget of a Snack Pack….is surprising. And so, after American Ninja actor Michael Dudikoff passed on the role, actor Robert Burke took over as Alex Murphy in RoboCop 3. As well as later voicing him in the underratedly fun RoboCop versus The Terminator video game.
Replacing Peter Weller as RoboCop is an impossible task. Yet, Burke gave it a hell of a run anyway. The film’s faults definitely didn’t rest on Burke’s shoulders like the 150 lb. suit he was forced to wear on set, constantly pinching and aggravating him. The poor guy was forced to wear a recycled suit from the first RoboCop that had been sized for Weller. You’ll be happy to know that playing the titular character in the widely accepted worst film in the franchise didn’t seem to have too negative an impact on his career. The actor has gone on to have a more than successful resume including everything from The Sopranos to Copland over the years that followed.
Hired to direct this amalgamation of what once was? None other than The Monster Squad and Night of the Creeps director Fred Dekker. Sounds like a match made in heaven for a third RoboCop. Even now it seems like a movie I’d see. Fact is, you can almost sense a good Dekker film buried just beneath the surface here. Begging to break free of its desperate to please veneer. Like General Zod screaming from the inside of the Phantom Zone projector.
Dekker took the job happily. Later lamenting that deep down he knew the story had been told to fruition long ago. Which, in his hilarious words made him “boned from the get-go”. Still, as a major fan of the first film, he says it was the most enjoyable movie-making experience he’s ever had. While unfair, he takes full ownership for all of RoboCop 3’s faults; saying that if the movie “blows” there is nobody to blame but himself. You seldom hear that type of humility coming out of Hollywood. Makes you wish the film worked out better for him. Alas, Dekker was facing the unsurmountable task of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Or rather an edgy, R-rated, couldn’t give two f*cks what anyone thinks franchise, into PG-13 family fodder that could be proudly placed on the shelves of a KB Toy store. Not that he had the budget for that either.
Dekker was forced to change Miller’s script and make it fit the family friendly tone Orion demanded. Unceremoniously watching RoboCop 3 unfold, you can almost hear the last gasping breath of Miller’s once ambitious story being snuffed out. What we end up with is a story where RoboCop (finally appearing after twenty minutes) takes up arms with a resistance group after OCP Officers forcibly evict and endanger the lives of Detroit civilians. Doing so, to clear the path for corporate-driven dystopian habitat Delta City. Not to mention, they ho-hum unceremoniously murder his best friend and partner, Officer Lewis. Played by a returning Nancy Allen. The story spends way too much time on an almost slapstick crew at the core of the resistance. Including a little girl who happens to be an expert hacker and the overacted roles of the normally welcome Tales From the Crypt alums CCH Pounder and Stephen Root.
Despite its shortcomings there are spots in which you can sense the beating heart of RoboCop underneath it all. These moments mostly lie in the villains of the story. Rip Torn as the CEO of OCP is if nothing else, an entertaining casting choice and the dark comedy surrounding the scumbags of the corporate world is on full display. Specifically, as we watch shareholder and employee reactions to OCP’s stock plunging. For a movie they wanted to be family friendly there sure are a lot of people offing themselves in this thing. Bradley Whitford’s Fleck is a great addition to the cast as another class-A American Psycho-level a-hole with a hell of a send-off. McDaggett is a bad guy worthy of his own Bond film, and of course it’s comforting to see franchise stalwart Felton Perry amongst them. The biggest missed opportunity of the entire thing, however, may have come in Bruce Locke’s Otomo character. The Kanemitsu Corporation, and their leader, Kanemitsu, overseeing OCP’s Detroit takeover create a ninja android called an Otomo. They look cool as hell and make a series of memorable gnarly faces throughout. The problem is? That’s about all we see them do. They show up, kick RoboCop around for a moment. Only to be dismantled in a single return of fire. As if RoboCop were fighting a malfunctioning Sega Dreamcast from a flea market. Dekker knew this and tried to explain that he was a huge fan of Hong Kong action films at the time. Such as those from Jackie Chan and John Woo. He wanted to emulate them but was once again too hampered by the budget to find a stunt team able to accomplish what he had in his mind. He’d later reference The Matrix fighting styles as the type of thing he’d been hoping to accomplish.
Dekker also laments that the comedy in the film doesn’t work and that the finale is “lame”. But had he been allowed to shoot for over the top comedy, violence, and Hong Kong-styled action mixed with Verhoeven’s satirical spirit and Miller’s original script? This could have been a hit. There’s a great movie somewhere in RoboCop 3. Deep, deep down. So deep down.
On the bright side the film was able to return original composer Basil Poledouris and his memorable themes. There’s also a cool moment where Frankenhooker’s James Lorinz showing up as a wise-cracking jerk weirdo who gets murdered by the Splatterpunks. It’s a win for horror fans to see the Night of the Creeps director basically high fiving Frank Henenlotter in a RoboCop film. Just my two cents.
The fourteen-week Atlanta production of RoboCop 3 wrapped up in May of 1991 but wouldn’t be seen on a big screen in North America until November of 1993. Orion Pictures had been dealing with a bankruptcy at the time, but Columbia TriStar Entertainment owned the international distribution rights. This led to a finished workprint of the film making its way to several countries ahead of America. And this all led to pirated VHS copies of RoboCop 3 making their way through the streets of New York City like they were NUKE. Also contributing to a land of spoilers was the tie in self-titled video game. It was released ahead of the film due to the Orion’s bankruptcy issues and featured several story points. The game featured a jet pack RoboCop shooting his way through a skyscraper on its super badass cover. The game itself was not super badass.
Neither was the reaction to the film. Today, RoboCop 3 sits at a current score of 15% on the audience “Popcorn” meter over at Rotten Tomatoes. Accompanied by a Critic’s Consensus that literally says it should be placed under arrest. Even on sight in 1993, the newspaper critics unloaded a full clip on RoboCop 3. Which didn’t do it any favors at the box office.
On the bright side, and in a hat tip to Dekker’s fascination with Hong Kong style action, RoboCop 3 opened up at #1 in Japan on its opening weekend. As well as France. In America, however, the film opened the same week as Look Who’s Talking Now, in a month entirely dominated by Jurassic Park. The film, with a budget of $22 million came in third place its opening weekend, grossing just over $4 million. RoboCop 3, which bent over backwards to be palatable for all ages, ended its domestic run with a paltry $10.6 million at home.
After all this, the total haul for Robo ended at a worldwide total of $47 million. Killing the franchise theatrically until its unwelcome PG-13 remake arrived more than twenty years later. The franchise has remained theatrically dead since. Good lord, why does this read like the title card at the end of a footage film? It’s not all bad!
Though no theatrical plans are currently in place, a badass video game called RoboCop: Rogue City piqued Amazon MGM’s interest after purchasing the franchise rights in 2022. The game (a midquel taking place between RoboCop 2 and 3) featured the return of Peter Weller to the titular role, and all this has Amazon considering a RoboCop TV Series that would bring the actor back once more. Weller chimed in, saying during the most recent Saturn awards that it could happen and he could return in some role if the “stars align”. Nancy Allen was also asked about returning to which she replied that she’d need to see a script first, ruminating on the last two attempts to revive the character. Not to mention, she’s dead.
But this is RoboCop after all, and we are in the age of requels. Though the storyline sounds like something more of a remake. The current synopsis is, “a giant tech conglomerate collaborating with the local police department to introduce a technologically advanced enforcer to combat rising crime”. If they do decide to officially dust off RoboCop for a TV series, the team behind it is a formidable one that includes both James Wan’s Atomic Monster Production Company and experienced showrunner Peter Ocko.
Studios are going to studio. They are never going to stop looking at franchise IP and wondering….can you fly, Bobby? We hope it does. And that….is what happened to RoboCop 3.
A couple of the previous episodes of the show can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
