In what could be called a bit of sci-fi synergy, original Robocop actor Peter Weller is reportedly joining the cast of J.J. Abrams upcoming sequel to Star Trek. While no other details are available at the moment as to what type or size of role Weller will be taking on in the film, you can be assured it will probably not be that of a robot or cyborg.

Of course, now that Weller is being cast in the film, speculation as to his role can begin in earnest, even without any “official” word. That’s just part of the fun. In addition to him most likely not being any sort of robot, bad or otherwise, It’s likely Weller will not play Kahn Noonian Singh — even if that role also doesn’t go to Benicio del Toro.

Weller will more likely take on a smaller yet pivotal role as a Starfleet officer or recognizable alien species who helps (or hinders) Kirk and company’s fight to destroy the greater evil threatening them and Earth. We have nothing to base that on of course, just spitballing here and trying to fill some column inches. That’s just how we roll. Who do you think Weller should play?

Paramount will release the Star Trek sequel May 17, 2013. Weller joins recently announced new cast members Alice Eve and del Toro and the returning Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, John Cho and Simon Pegg.

Though it was upsetting to see Darren Aronofsky to walk away from helming a reboot of the classic 1980′s sci-fi franchise Robocop, we knew that him working on a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine may be a better fit. Also, we were sure MGM would find someone to take on the half-cop, half-machine.

It looks like that creative team is finally coming together. MGM already announced that foreign action director Jose Padilha will be taking on the role of director for the upcoming film, and now news is coming in that the studio has hired Josh Zetumer to pen the script.

Who exactly is Josh Zetumer? Well from what Deadline has been able to dig up, he looks to be Hollywood’s next big thing, if we ever get to see one of his films.

Zetumer first got on the radar when he wrote the script Infiltrator, which made the Black List. That spy thriller script is set at Warner Bros as a potential starring vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio.

He also wrote drafts of Dune when Peter Berg was going to direct that remake at Paramount, and he scripted a fourth installment of The Bourne Identity before Universal instead developed a spinoff with Tony Gilroy. Zetumer just turned in Vale, a supernatural action thriller script at Warner Bros.

So while Detroit is still battling with getting their real-life RoboCop statue to kick off, we could be seeing more of this celluloid version very soon. The next question then becomes: who will they get to play protagonist Alex Murphy aka RoboCop? We’re sure to get an answer soon enough.

For those who may not be in the know, the great city of Detroit is currently lobbying to have a statue of one of their greatest film heroes erected in the middle of town as a symbol to rebuild the once great city. So who better to stand behind their plan than the man who played the half-cop, half-machine himself, Peter Weller.

Thanks to Funny or Die, Weller has sent out a message to those who are fighting for this statue to become a real thing, and had some words of wisdom on exactly what how he feels about being immortalized as a statue.

A bit disheartening to see Weller return to his Alex Murphy role after he’s made a name for himself as a great TV baddie in such films like 24, Dexter, and Psych, but he’s back, and he’s wearing a cardboard box on his head.

For those who want to help out the cause, be sure to like the official Facebook page at the Detroit Deserves RoboCop fan page. Check out Weller’s message after the jump.

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In a time when it sounds like a good idea to studio executives to rerelease classic films in 3D, it’s nice to see a simple gesture done to a classic set of films like upgrading them to 1080p that really makes you appreciate the times we live in.

That’s exactly what 20th Century Fox’s Home Entertainment brand did when they released the original Robocop trilogy in Blu-Ray. And you can believe that these classic sci-fi films still hold up to this day.

There isn’t much to the discs except for the film. There are very little special features, with the exception of some great old trailers. Though if you’re going to shell out money on films like these, you’ve got to do it purely for the fact that you can now add the Robocop films to your fancy new Blu-Ray collection.

For those who were in a cave from 1987 to 19992, the films are about the murder of Officer Alex Murphy by a group of drugged up thugs. The officer is brutally gunned down, with only part of his brain and chest still intact. Scientists from the ubiquitous company OCP rebuild Murphy into a state of the art crime fighting cyborg called Robocop who is built to clean up the town, avenging his death along the way.

If seeing Peter Weller blow stuff up and walk through fire in 1080p isn’t enough, consider how the storytelling of acclaimed directors Paul Verhoeven, Irvin Kershner, and Fred Dekker will look in these cleaned up prints and digitally remastered audio.

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This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are back in the studio and ready to take on a whole bunch of new and exciting topics. Some of these include the boix office success of Jackass 3D, TV programs that are getting the shaft and the ones we’ll be seeing more of as well as the exciting and upcoming series The Walking Dead.

Chris and Matt also made some picks this week including Chris’ pick of the classic 80′s sci-fi film Flash Gordon and Matt’s pick of The RobocopTrilogy now on Blu-ray.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

While the thought of a Robocop reboot is still up in the air, that doesn’t mean we still can’t look back with nostalgia on some of our favorite Robocop films in glorious 720p picture. Now we can finally relive those epic moments and more with a massive collector’s edition box set of all three films. From an MGM press release:

Packed full of memorable moments and Robocop quotes, the ROBOCOP TRILOGY is a fan must-have. Viewers can experience their favorite “human” robot in all three classic films, now on Blu-ray.

Directors Paul Verhoeven (Totall Recall, Basic Instinct) of ROBOCOP, Irvin Kershner of ROBOCOP 2 and Fred Dekker (Monster Squad Forever, Nighs of the Creeps) of ROBOCOP 3 bring the half robot, half police officer to life with the help of an intensely talented cast, including Peter Weller (The Order; 24), Robert Burke (Good Night, and Good Luck; Tombstone), Kurtwood Smith (Rambo III; That 70’s Show) and Nancy Allen (Law and Order, Carrie).

The box set arrives on Blu-ray for the very first time on October 5th, and will run for $59.99 total (that breaks down to about $20 per movie, with the special features thrown in.). Be sure pick this collection up as soon as you can, and hold yourself over until we get a new Robocop in theaters.

Ralph Garman from L.A. radio station KROQ 106.7 hosted the official San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Dexter  panel. Ralph got things rolling by showing an exclusive  sneak peek at the second season of its animated webisode series ‘Dexter Early Cuts: Dark Echo,’ to a packed hall.

A video showing gameplay from Dexter ‘the game’ for the iPod and iPad was on tap next, revealing some of the in-game action from the 3D game based on the  Dexter series. But what the audience really wanted to see, was a trailer from the upcoming Dexter Season 5 which begins in September.

The trailer takes us back to the game-changing events of Season 4′s shocking finale. A crying baby; the police arrive with siren’s blaring at Dexter’s suburban house; an image of Rita, Dexter’s wife, resting lifeless in a bathtub full of blood. In front of the officers on the scene, Dexter appears to admit it. He admits he did it. Killed his own wife.

Ponderous, since Dexter’s serial-killing peer, the crafty and lethal ’Trinity Killer,’ played masterfully by John Lithgow, was most certainly responsible. Still, the apparent admission stirs suspicion in those around Dexter, and many begin to question if perhaps there is more to Dexter than meets the eye.

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