Star of the US remake of The Killing, the Swedish-born actor Joel Kinnaman looks set to be the lead in Jose Padilha’s Robocop movie...
With Michael Fassbender linked to the lead in the Robocop remake for a while, despite no formal offer ever being made to the actor, there was an air of optimism regarding the project securing a big name for the title role.
Remakes are often sneered at, but with an actor who’s the man of the moment linked, and a director who has made two of the most exciting, intelligent and politically charged action thrillers in recent times at the helm, cautious optimism was being detected.
With the news of who the lead role has been offered to, though, will that optimism remain in place? For it isn't Michael Fassbender who will be stepping into the tin suit of RoboCop. Instead, the role has been offered to Swedish-born actor, and star of the American version of The Killing, Joel Kinnaman.
In The Killing, he had a fairly thankless role of playing an unlikeable character, albeit one with a few redeeming features. But I think he did well in the show. He has also had a number of supporting roles in his career, but this will be his first attempt at headlining a movie.
Whilst having someone with the stature of Michael Fassbender in the lead would have been interesting, going with someone such as Kinnaman could have its benefits. Peter Weller was hardly a movie star, was he?
Sure, there’ll still be those who will be completely against the remake/reimagining/whatever it turns out to be, perhaps ignoring the sub-par sequels and TV spin offs that followed Paul Verhoeven’s original masterpiece. I, for one, am remaining optimistic about the project. I love the original, and I love director Jose Padilha’s work to date; I can’t wait to see how this ends up.
More on Jose Padilha’s Robocop when we get it.
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