MGM has hired Josh Zetumer to script a remake of the 1987 science fiction/action film Robocop. The studio, which has finally emerged from a financial funk that delayed the production of The Hobbit and a new James Bond film, is moving quickly to establish Robocop as its first new franchise. Just a little over a week ago MGM announced that Brazilian director Jose Padilha had been hired to helm the new movie (see “Jose Padilha to Helm Robocop Remake”).

 

Now MGM has picked Zetumer, a writer who Deadline says is “ready to pop,” thanks to his Infiltrator script, which is being developed for Leonardo DiCaprio and which made the “Black List” of best unproduced screenplays in Tinseltown. Zetumer has also penned a screenplay for a remake of Dune, as well as a script for the fourth Bourne film.