How Oreo Cookies Almost Ruined The RoboCop Movie

Method acting has given audiences some wild stories over the years from cinema history, but special effects expert Randy E. Moore's account of the legendary Peter Weller may be one of the most unbelievable. Weller is most known for portraying the lead character, Alex Murphy, in Paul Verhoeven's timeless sci-fi classic, "RoboCop," and Moore's anecdote about him happened precisely when they shot the iconic movie. He was a property department head, and while preparing for a scene, he had a little quarrel with the star, who acted like a spoiled kindergartener.

As Moore recalled in an interview (via Far Out Magazine), "When we were shooting the steel mill, Peter was upstairs, I went up, and I was carrying about eight Oreos in a stack. I handed him his weapon. 'Safety's off'. He wouldn't take the pistol and said, 'Robo wants an Oreo'. I said, 'No, Robo doesn't get an Oreo, if Peter wants an Oreo, Peter can have one'."

Weller did not like the resistance he brushed up against while trying to get his cookie, and, apparently, he walked to the railing and shouted, "Robo wants an Oreo!" to get his demand met. However, Moore wasn't the kind of man to back down or give in to such juvenile behavior, and he stuffed all eight Oreos in his mouth while watching Weller get angrier by the second. He said, "Robo got upset." When Weller was asked about the incident, he claimed that he had no recollection of it, saying, "I don't know what the hell he's talking about." According to Moore, however, he did get an Oreo from a crew member so the scene could be shot.

Although the original "RoboCop" received two sequels in 1990 and 1993, and a remake in 2014 (where Joel Kinnaman took over the titular role), none of them could retain the brilliance that Verhoeven masterfully captured (just like in this other cult sci-fi flick) at the end of the '80s. But all hope isn't lost yet for getting another potentially great "RoboCop" movie since a straight continuation to the original was in the works at MGM as of 2018. Screenwriter of the original film, Ed Neumeier, confirmed in an interview with Zeitgeist that the new installment would be a "continuation of the first movie" titled "RoboCop Returns."

Shortly after that, the project also found its director in "District 9's" Neil Blomkamp; however, a year later, the filmmaker announced dropping out in favor of a horror he was directing at the time (via MovieWeb). Since then, he's been replaced by "Little Monsters" director Abe Forsythe.

But the sequel is still happening — alongside the development of a TV show — as Prime Video confirmed in 2023 (via Deadline). However, as of now, there is no further news about potential casting or plot, but hopefully, this new iteration will make a bigger splash than the 2014 remake did. Fingers crossed.