‘The Killing’ Star Joel Kinnaman To be the Next Robocop

Robocop is finally getting an upgrade. After months of rumors,  it looks like MGM has finally found their leading man for the upcoming Robocop remake. With potential stars ranging from Michael Fassbender to Russell Crowe, they finally decided on Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman to play the cyborg police officer.

According to Deadline.com, MGM has made an official offer to Kinnaman, who is best known for his roles in AMC’s The Killing and in the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds thriller Safe House.

In the ultra-violent 1987 original, Peter Weller played officer Alex J. Murphy, who is brutally gunned down in the line of duty. In this futuristic version of Detroit, crime has gotten out of control and the normal police can’t stop the criminals. After the privatized police department resurrects him as a half-man, half-machine cop, Murphy is haunted by his human memories while facing both a sadistic criminal syndicate, as well as a corrupt corporate board.

The original was directed by Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Starship Troopers), and was followed by two inferior sequels, an animated series and a live-action show.  The new version will be directed by Jose Padilha (Elite Squad) and written by Joshua Zetumer.  Strike Entertainment partners Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing.

No release date has been set, but the Robocop reboot is rumored to be released sometime in 2013.