Amazon Studios Identifies Dozen MGM Titles for Film and TV Development, Including Robocop, Stargate, Legally Blonde, and More

Amazon’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, one of Hollywood’s most storied studios, in March 2022 was largely driven by MGM’s extensive film and TV catalog, which spans nearly a century. Since the acquisition, Amazon Studios has been sifting through MGM’s library to identify initial titles for film and TV development. Some of the titles that have been identified include Robocop, Stargate, Legally Blonde, Fame, Barbershop, The Magnificent Seven, Pink Panther, and The Thomas Crown Affair. Each title is being approached differently, with some being steered toward film, some toward TV, and some getting both movie and TV treatments. Amazon Studios is in active early conversation about Legally Blonde, both for a movie and a potential TV series, sources said. There already had been on-and-off efforts to get a third Legally Blonde film off the ground for the past five years. Amazon has similar plans for Stargate. We hear both film and TV installments are considered, with a movie likely going first. Robocop is also being talked about for film and TV, with a TV show possibly first, Deadline hears. Additionally, sources said that Amazon Studios is actively developing TV series based on Fame, Barbershop, and The Magnificent Seven. Sources said there are also discussions about a Thomas Crown Affair movie and a Pink Panther movie, which could be animated. A Poltergeist project also is a possibility down the road. Identifying and developing MGM’s IP has been slow going so far. Some of that has been by design, as the new owners want to be thoughtful about the process given the great legacy of the titles involved. Some of it has been by necessity given the complexity of some of the underlying rights that have been taking months to untangle. Cynthia Waldman, who has spent more than 20 years combined at the company and is now Head of Library Rights in her fourth stint at MGM, is responsible for sorting through the complexity of rights. The job of Waldman is to act as an entertainment archeologist, helping producers figure out the intricacies of rights to projects they are interested in adapting. The Robocop sci-fi action franchise centers around the futuristic adventures of Alex Murphy, a Detroit, Michigan police officer, who is fatally wounded in the line of duty and transformed into a powerful cyborg, brand-named RoboCop. The first film premiered in 1987, followed by two sequels, Robocop 2 in 1990, Robocop 3 in 1993, and 2014’s Robocop, a remake of the 1987 film. However, the process of sorting through the complex rights issues and identifying which titles to develop has been slow going. As Cynthia Waldman, Head of Library Rights at MGM, works to untangle the ownership and financing history of these titles, it remains to be seen which projects will ultimately make it to the screen. One thing is certain, though: with the talent already expressing interest in these properties and Amazon’s track record of successful original content, these adaptations have the potential to be must-watch entertainment for fans both old and new.

#AmazonBuysMGM #ClassicMovies #FilmCatalog #TVSeries #LegallyBlonde3 #StargateMovie #RobocopSeries #TheMagnificentSevenRemake #PinkPantherAnimatedMovie #ThomasCrownAffairRemake #PoltergeistProject #EntertainmentNews #AmazonStudios #MGMStudio