Earlier this summer, word hit the wire that Hugh Laurie was in talks to play the villain in the upcoming remake of RoboCop, and there’s a reason why that news was never confirmed – because it’s not going to happen. Variety‘s Jeff Sneider tweeted the news last night, while also confirming that Laurie was never officially set for the role to begin with, writing “While he was never officially confirmed, sources telling Variety that HUGH LAURIE has ended talks to play villain in ROBOCOP. HUGH LAURIE definitely out of ROBOCOP reboot, not that he was ever ‘in.’”

Laurie would have played the evil CEO of Omni Corp, the suitably shady corporation that helps turn Detroit cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) into RoboCop. Deadline Hollywood now reports that MGM is talking to other actors to fill the role, including Clive Owen.

The José Padilha-directed film still has a great cast, including Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel, Michael K. Williams, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. The film is targeting a release date of August 9, 2013. [via /Film]