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The wild fan theory that suggests RoboCop is Jesus Christ
Devised on the set of Blade Runner in 1982 when screenwriter Edward Neumeier was working in the film’s art department, the bombastic action movie RoboCop comes across as a satire of Ridley Scott’s sophisticated vision, frolicking in the playground of extravagant science fiction.
Telling the story of a terminally wounded cop who returns to the police force as a powerful cyborg hungry to take down the criminals that killed him in dystopian Detroit, the 1982 movie is known for its indulgence in pure escapist joy. Emphasising violence throughout the film, director Paul Verhoeven made the sci-fi movie into a piece of comic satire, with critics even pointing to the movie’s narrative intelligence, deep philosophical messages and subtext rebuking the policies of contemporary President Ronald Reagan.
With the film celebrating its 35 year anniversary and cinema re-release with a 4K director’s cut, many are once again analysing the brilliance of Verhoeven’s movie, with some even coming to the conclusion that the film is one wild allegory for RoboCop being Jesus Christ.
Hear us out before you close this tab, as there’s a surprising amount of evidence to back up this fan theory, with even the director himself weighing in on the online discussion.
Look into the foundations of RoboCop’s narrative and you’ll get a strong scent of this theory, with the 1987 movie following the story of a man who is wrongfully executed, only to return to the world of the living to save its integrity. Sound familiar? To dig deeper into this theory, we must look further into the story, as the titular mechanical hero takes to the streets of the city to save its citizens from harm, with writer Edward Neumeier and director Paul Verhoeven even including a scene where the protagonist appears to be walking over shallow water.
Telling the story of life, death and resurrection, there’s certainly sufficient evidence to suggest that this theory could indeed be true, with a further example of this imagery coming from the initial shooting of Sgt. Murphy at the start of the film when his hand is targeted with a shotgun, forcing him to raise his arm as if crucified.
This isn’t, however, the musings of picky Reddit investigators, with the director himself shockingly validating this theory in an interview with MTV in 2010. “The point of RoboCop, of course, is it is a Christ story,” the filmmaker revealed, adding, “It is about a guy that gets crucified after 50 minutes, then is resurrected in the next 50 minutes and then is like the super-cop of the world, but is also a Jesus figure as he walks over water at the end”.
Referring to the character as the “American Jesus”, the filmmaker went on to explain the scene in which RoboCop walks on water, the most explicit reference to the character’s religious connotations throughout the movie. “It was [shot in] an abandoned steel factory in Pittsburgh,” Verhoeven explained, adding, “I put something just underneath the water so [Weller] could walk over the water and say this wonderful line… ‘I am not arresting you anymore.’ Meaning, ‘I’m going to shoot you.’ And that is of course the American Jesus”.
So, whilst the Jesus Christ allegory remains a fan theory created after the release of the final film, it also appears that the filmmaker agrees with the allegory, even planting clues to this fact throughout his 1987 classic. Even still, we’re not going to wait on RoboCop to save us from sin.
