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Remember when they used to make animated series out of any hit franchise going? Mark Harrison does…

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Rambo: The Force Of Freedom

In an alternate ending for 1982’s First Blood, traumatised Vietnam War veteran John Rambo commits suicide. However, in post-production, director Ted Kotcheff and writer/star Sylvester Stallone opted for the canon ending where Rambo surrenders.

Had they kept the original, we certainly wouldn’t have four more Rambo sequels, and it might have dented the film’s viability for animated spin-off series as well. As it is, Ruby-Spears Productions created Rambo: The Force Of Freedom, a G.I. Joe-alike action series that ran for 65 episodes in 1986.

Battling the evil organisation S.A.V.A.G.E., Rambo and his “toyetic” friends travel the globe, pausing only to play with animals and teach children how to be good. Stallone was reportedly not best pleased but continued pancaking enemy combatants...

The “Robocop” reboot series has assembled quite the crew.

The Amazon MGM Studios production now has James Wan attached to executive produce alongside showrunner/writer/EP Peter Ocko, TheWrap has learned. They will be joined by fellow EPs Michael Clear and Rob Hackett for Atomic Monster, with Danielle Bozzone overseeing for Atomic Monster.

The official logline reads: “A giant tech conglomerate collaborates with the local police department to introduce a technologically advanced enforcer to combat rising crime — a police officer who’s part man, part machine.”

The original “RoboCop” movie premiered in 1987 from Orion Pictures (now a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios). It was directed by Paul Verhoeven, written by co-creators Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner and starred Peter Weller in the titular role.

That was followed by “RoboCop 2” in 1990, “RoboCop 3” in 1993 and an official remake also called “RoboCop” in 2014 starring Joel Kinnaman. In addition to the films,...

Amazon's Robocop TV show gets a new update, revealing that a showrunner has been brought on board. Released in 1987 and directed by Paul Verhoeven, the first Robocop movie starred Peter Weller as the titular cyborg police officer. The franchise returned in 2014 for a failed reboot starring Joel Kinnaman, with the property then moving to Amazon with the company's purchase of MGM in 2022. It was subsequently reported that a Robocop TV show was in the works, though few updates about the project have emerged since.

Now, Variety reports that Peter Ocko has joined the Robocop TV show as showrunner. James Wan has also boarded the series and will executive produce the project through his production company, Atomic Monster. The report includes the official logline for the series, included below, which teases a premise similar to that of the original film:

A giant tech conglomerate collaborates with the local police department to...

Intro: Just like any successful movie franchise from any particular decade, there’s one unwritten rule; if it’s much loved, generated enough in box office returns, and is clearly still a relevant IP, you know what to eventually expect. Yup, that’s right movie-fans – a remake! Love em’ or loathe em’ they’re not going away anytime soon, and sometimes they can not only offer a fascinating take on the original movie but also enhance the legacy by bringing in a whole new audience. 1982’s The Thing is an incredible remake of the 1951 original, along with similarly effective fellow horror remake The Fly from 1986. Also, more recently we’ve had gems such as Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, the hugely popular A Star is Born and, of course, The Wicker Man. Okay, maybe not that particular example, but Nicolas Cage randomly punching people in a bear suit has to hold some value to movie-fans,...

Whoever thought RoboCop, Highlander and Rambo would make suitable kids' cartoons? These folks, that's who...

There are certain eternal questions in life that I doubt we’ll ever find an answer to. Who was Jack The Ripper? What happened on the Mary Celeste? How have there been five Resident Evil movies? And the question we’re going to look at now, why do they make kids' cartoons out of very adult movies?

In some ways it makes sense. As a kid, there are very few moments more exciting than watching an ultra-gory action film or a dodgy sex comedy that you know you’re not supposed to be watching. Everyone knows this, the studios especially. But surely they can’t be that blatant about it? You can’t make a show for kids based on RoboCop! Have you seen RoboCop? Won’t somebody please think of the children?

Rambo: The Force Of Freedom...

Interview conducted by and copyright Edward Gross Man of Steel storyboard artist Jay Oliva has had a long career in animation, where has has brought his storyboarding skills to such TV shows as Extreme Ghostbusters, RoboCop: Alpha Commando, Godzilla: The Series, The Batman, Justice League and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, as well as the animated films Superman: Dooomsday, All-Star Superman, and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Additionally, he's directed Young Justice, Batman: The Dark Night Returns and the soon to be released Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, among others. In the first part of Vfk's interview with Oliva, we look at the action of Man of Steel, particularly the last twenty minutes or so, exploring the thought process that went into those sequences and, of course, the controversy that has surrounded it. Voices From Krypton: I liked Man of Steel the first time, and I liked it even more the second time.

MGM has closed a deal with “The Killing” star Joel Kinnaman to star in RoboCop, a remake of the 1987 original and a reboot of the crime thriller series.

Deadline first reported the Swedish actor was offered the role two weeks ago and broke the confirmation Saturday morning. It goes without saying, but this is a major career boost for Kinnaman, who starred in Swedish hits like Snabba Cash and the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before crossing over to Hollywood. The second season of AMC’s “The Killing” premieres on April 1.

Michael Fassbender and Russell Crowe were both erroneously rumored for the role.

Kinnaman is the fourth actor to play RoboCop on screen, following in the footsteps of Peter Weller, Robert John Burke (RoboCop 3), Richard Eden (a shortlived Canadian TV series) and Page Fletcher (“RoboCop: Alpha Commando” miniseries).

José Padilha (Elite Squad, Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within...

Joining the ranks of Peter Weller, Robert John Burke ("RoboCop 3"), Richard Eden (the shortlived Canadian TV series), David Sobolov (the animated series "RoboCop: Alpha Commando") and Page Fletcher (the mini-series "RoboCop: Prime Directives"), Joel Kinnaman is now the latest actor to put on the metal helmet as Deadline confirms he will be the next RoboCop in the upcoming reboot.

It was just over a week ago that an offer was floated to the "Snabba Cash," "Safe House" and "The Killing" star and he has signed on the dotted line, marking his first big Hollywood tentpole. It's not the first time Kinnaman has flirted with a major studio project as Steven Soderbergh eyed him for his aborted "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." while David Dobkin had cast him in "Arthur & Lancelot" before Warner Bros. pulled the plug. But this project looks to be on more solid ground, with MGM developing this for the past little while,...

Usually we see animated cartoons as a separate entity from live-action movies, or else they spawn a major movie event or franchise. This would be the case with G.I. Joe, which opens this Friday, August 7 in theaters nationwide. However, there are a select number of memorable animated television series that were based on a live-action movie. Having broke the mold in that sense, we decided to come up with our list of the Top Ten Animated Series Based on a Movie. Each of these animated series garnered various levels of success and popularity from various eras on TV nostalgia.

10. Tales From the Cryptkeeper (1993)

This early 90’s cartoon of course was based on the HBO Series and two Movies (Demon Night and Bordello of Blood). Of course the content was completely watered down, taking out the violence and other questionable material.Instead the episodes were about machines that turned people into wax,...