Michael Fassbender is first choice for RoboCop remake

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Director says, "I'll talk to him"

Michael Fassbender isn't showing any signs that he'll loosen his stranglehold on brooding leading man roles anytime soon: director José Padilha has stated he'd like the Fass for his RoboCop remake.

In an interview on Brazilian TV to promote Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within , Padilha spoke about his take on the future of law enforcement.

Sadly we don't understand Portuguese, but the guys over at Bleeding Cool were able to get a translation of the transcript.

Here are Padilha's comments in full:

"I’ll film RoboCop . I’m indeed writing the script, the writer is here with me in Rio, we’ve spent over the last 15 days working together, refining the script.

"I’ll be travelling this Friday back to LA, bringing this new version to discuss with the studio, and maybe begin with the casting, selecting actors… and the idea is to begin filming in February – February or March. That’s the idea, y’know, we never know in the American movie industry. We’re just delivering the project, but also we depend on the schedule of the actors… it’s tough.

"I can’t talk yet, it’s too early to speak, but there are some actors I like. I really like the Fassbender, I’d like to talk to him — I’ll talk to him. There’s a possibility… and there’s a lot of other great actors that would play RoboCop. But that’s the idea, to film around January, February, March."

Getting Fassbender onboard probably won't be the easiest of undertakings: his schedule has been pretty packed of late, and he'll soon be starring in Brendan Gleeson's directorial debut At Swim-Two-Birds .

There's always the possibility he'll be called up for an X-Men: First Class sequel too, and will he want to don another metal helmet?

We'll probably start to hear a lot more casting rumours once the script is completed, but it's rare for a director to be so open about who they want at such an early stage.

Fassbender would no doubt make a pretty damn cool Alex Murphy/RoboCop, but then he'd make a pretty damn cool anything.

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum
Former Editor of Total Film magazine

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.