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Prime Video’s upcoming RoboCop series finally has its lead actor. British actor Dan Stevens will play the iconic role of Alex Murphy – and, consequently, RoboCop. The project, developed by showrunner Peter Ocko and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, is based on the MGM film franchise. The casting announcement came a month after Amazon MGM Studios officially gave the series the green light.
RoboCop was among the first MGM films identified for TV adaptations after Amazon acquired the studio in 2022. And although the project had been stuck in development for several years, Dan Stevens quickly emerged as the frontrunner for the role, which was played by Peter Weller in Paul Verhoeven’s original film. The RoboCop series will consist of eight episodes, with a script written by Peter Ocko. In the series, a giant tech conglomerate convinces the city to use a powerful robot as a police officer, into which the consciousness of the late Officer Alex Murphy is implanted.
“Peter Ocko has crafted a vision that honors 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 at the time of the pickup about the series. According to James Wan, the project will take a modern look at the issues raised by the 1987 film, particularly “technology, identity, and who corporations truly serve.”
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Ocko serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Van, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett. Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, screenwriters of the original RoboCop film, will also serve as executive producers.
The 1987 film was followed by two sequels – RoboCop 2 in 1990 and RoboCop 3 in 1993 – as well as a 2014 remake of the original film. Weller played the lead role in the first two films, but was replaced by Robert Burke in the third installment, and by Joel Kinnaman in the franchise reboot.
Dan Stevens rose to fame thanks to his role in the popular British series Downton Abbey, after which he starred in the critically acclaimed FX series Legion. His other television roles include Solar Opposites, Zero Day, and the upcoming third season of the AMC series The Terror. He will also play one of the lead roles in the second season of Dexter: Resurrection, which is set to premiere soon.