Prime Video has found the man to step into one of sci-fi’s most famous suits, with Dan Stevens (Legion, Downton Abbey, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) set to play Alex Murphy in ‘RoboCop‘, the upcoming live-action series from Amazon MGM Studios and Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
Stevens will take on both Murphy and his cyborg alter ego in the eight-episode series, which was officially ordered by Amazon MGM Studios last month. The project has been in development for several years, with Peter Ocko serving as writer, showrunner and executive producer.
‘RoboCop’ updates the central idea of the MGM movie franchise for a new era. A giant tech conglomerate convinces a city to put a powerful robot on its police force, only for that machine to contain the consciousness of Alex Murphy, a beloved police officer who has been killed in the line of duty.
That setup should sound very familiar to fans of Paul Verhoeven’s wonderfully brutal 1987 original, but the creative team has been clear that the series is looking to use the concept to tackle modern concerns rather than simply dusting off the armour.
“Peter Ocko has crafted a vision that honours the soul of what made the original so enduring while building something entirely fresh and urgent for today,” Amazon MGM Studios’ Head of Global TV Peter Friedlander said when the series was ordered.
James Wan has also said the new adaptation will take a contemporary look at the questions the original raised “about technology, identity, and who corporations really serve,” which feels like fairly fertile territory in 2026. If anything, the corporate dystopia of RoboCop has become somewhat less far-fetched over the past four decades…
Ocko executive produces alongside Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett through Blumhouse Atomic Monster, with Danielle Bozzone serving as co-executive producer. Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, who co-wrote the original film, are also executive producers, giving the new series a direct creative link back to the 1987 movie.
The original RoboCop spawned two sequels, released in 1990 and 1993, before the franchise was rebooted for the big screen in 2014. Amazon began exploring new projects based on MGM properties after acquiring the studio in 2022, with ‘RoboCop’ among the titles put into development.
For Stevens, this adds another sizeable genre role to an increasingly eclectic CV. Between superheroes, monsters, horror and prestige drama, putting him inside the RoboCop armour sounds like a pretty good use of his ability to be charming, intense and slightly terrifying at the same time.
Prime Video has not yet announced a premiere date for ‘RoboCop‘.
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