According to Variety's Jeff Sneider, Laurie will not appear in the film and was never officially confirmed to be doing so.
The news comes via Sneider's twitter feed:
MGM RUMOR #1: While he was never officially confirmed, sources telling Variety that HUGH LAURIE has ended talks to play villain in ROBOCOP.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) August 23, 2012
Shortly after he tweeted the following:
HUGH LAURIE definitely out of ROBOCOP reboot, not that he was ever "in."
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) August 23, 2012
ROBOCOP is scheduled to begin shooting next month (September), so if MGM has indeed lost Laurie they have some hustling to do. Unless, of course, the studio already has their villain lined-up and we aren't yet privy to that information.
