Hugh Laurie recently stepped away from the villain role in Jose Padilha’s Robocop remake, which is a project the director is already describing as “hell.” Now it appears a good sign for production has arrived at last, as Michael Keaton has replaced Laurie in the role of Raymond Sellars, CEO of the company behind Robocop.

As Deadline reports, Keaton joins the previously cast Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson and Abbie Cornish.

Director Jose Padilha said of Keaton: “Michael is the final addition to the amazing cast we have assembled for this film and it is so great to have the last puzzle piece in place. It is thrilling that everything has come together to bring this innovative new vision of RoboCop to life. We’ve got a great script, a great cast, some killer ED-209’s and I can’t wait to get Alex Murphy back on the streets.”

Here is the synopsis, for those who have not seen the original.

In a crime-ridden city, a fatally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him.

Production is slated to start next month, with a planned release date of August 9, 2013. Are you excited to see Keaton join the cast?