We knew that RoboCop was getting a hard reset with the upcoming reboot starring Joel Kinnaman, but thanks to a new press release, we now have some details about the plot itself.  The original 1987 Paul Verhoeven picture starred Peter Weller as a cybernetically-enhanced super-cop who dealt swift justice in Detroit.  The new version keeps the same city and the same nucleus of the story, but introduces new elements.  From director Jose Padilha, RoboCop, also starring Gary Oldman, Hugh Laurie, Abbie Cornish and Samuel L. Jackson, opens August 9th, 2013.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Check out the full press release below, with the synopsis in bold:

Los Angeles, CA (July 11, 2012) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) today announced that Studio Canal has acquired rights to RoboCop, MGM and Sony’s reboot of the 1987 sci-fi action classic, in the UK, France and Germany. Studio Canal will release director José Padilha’s RoboCop theatrically and across platforms including video, VOD and television, with certain limited exceptions. The announcement was made by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officers of MGM, and Olivier Courson, Chairman and CEO of Studio Canal.

“MGM is thrilled to be bringing RoboCop back to the big screen,” said Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officers of MGM. “Studio Canal is the ideal partner to help us share the reimagined, action-packed classic with audiences in the UK, France and Germany.”

“Studio Canal is extremely happy to be partnering with MGM on RoboCop. We have been admirers of the director José Padilha since we first saw and distributed the award winning Elite Squad in the United Kingdom. As film fans, we cannot wait to see his vision of this new RoboCop with such an incredible cast including Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, and Samuel Jackson and with producers like Marc Abraham and Eric Newman,” said Olivier Courson, Chairman and CEO of Studio Canal.

In RoboCop, the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.

Director José Padilha (Elite Squad) reimagines the tale of part man, part machine, all cop starring Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) as the title character, Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises) as the scientist who creates RoboCop, and Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers) as media mogul Pat Novak. RoboCop is being produced by Strike Entertainment’s Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, with Eric Carraro as Executive Producer. The film is currently in pre-production and slated for a summer 2013 release.

Studio Canal will release RoboCop theatrically in the UK, France and Germany in 2013. Studio Canal acquired the rights to the film for 20 years.