Although in many respects Bottin would be treading familiar ground in RoboCop 3, there was one dramatic change in the production: the title role was to be played bya new actor, Peter Weller, who had portrayed the cyborg character in the series' first two installments, was caught in a scheduling dilemma when RoboCop 3 was set to film at the same time David Cronenberg was to shoot "Naked Lunch", his adaptation of the novel by beat era author William S, Burroughs, An avid Burroughs fan, Weller had actively campaigned for the lead in the Cronenberg picture, and when shooting schedules collided, the actor bowed out of RoboCop 3.

Badly burned in the Splattering skirmish, Robocop is transferred to his high-tech robochamber where he is cared for and maintained by Dr. Marie Lazarus, Among the repairs is extensive facial reconstruction - a story device that conveniently explains why Robocop no longer resembles Peter Weller. For the scene, which featured Robocop without his metallic helmet, Rob Bottin and company devised an entirely new set of prosthetics to be worn by Robert Burke. None of the prosthetic pieces that were used on Peter Weller could be used on Robert, prosthetics made for one person usually won't work on someone else. 0ne of the reasons Peter was cast in the first picture was because he had a kind of futuristic, mannequin-like face - which Robert does not. So they really had to rethink the makeup, because it had originally been inspired by the particular look of Peter Weller's face. Rob Bottin hoped that they would avoid the whole issue in the third movie, but they really wanted to show him with his helmet off So Bottin resculpted all the pieces for Robert.

The loss of Weller presented the budget-conscious filmmakers with the problem of finding a new actor who could step into Weller's shoes- both figuratively and literally. "They wanted to be able to save money by using the old suits from the second picture," Bottin recalled, "So they were on the hunt for an actor who would fit into the suit we had -it was the 'Cinderella Syndrome.' They didn't have the money to create a whole new body cast and a whole new sculpture just to basically get what they had before, Also, they didn't want to have to change the look of the character at all, So they went searching for Cinderella. We gave them Peter Weller's measurements -ridiculously precise measurements, like from wrist to elbow, elbow to shoulder joint, center of rib cage to the outside of rib cage, et cetera, They found two actors they liked, and the one that fit into the suit the best was Robert Burke. But it wasn't as if he was cast merely because he fit the suit; Robert had had mime training, so he was able to do really good robotic moves," Even with the close size match, the suit still had to be tailored to Burke's physique, "The upper chest didn't fit him exactly, Also, Robert's neck was much longer than Weller's, and his head was a different shape, So we did have to cast some new parts, cut them, make them wider or longer, shorten them or refit them by remolding. But, all in all, Robert fit into the suit very well.

In addition to modifying the suit to better fit the new actor, Bottin was required to refurbish the existing suits which had been heavily damaged by the rigors of shooting the previous film. "We would have preferred to make all new suits, just to make it more comfortable for the actor. Anytime you have to patch up holes or fix things up, it adds to the weight of the thing. A hand-sized bit of bondo here and there, a little wire and a little metal reinforcement -it all adds up, By the time you distribute all the little fix-ups over the suit, it can add ten to fifteen pounds to the weight -and that's a problem when people are already complaining that the suit is too heavy. But much to Robert's credit, he pretty much made it to the end of the film before he started complaining about how heavy the suit was"

With the production team, cast and effects personnel assembled, the filmmakers went in search of a suitable location for filming. The first picture had been shot in Dallas, while the second had chosen Houston as its site. Maintaining the tradition of filming in southern cities, the producers chose to shoot RoboCop3 in Atlanta. "Atlanta has become a really important film\-making center," Crowley asserted. "There are film crews there that work on all the movies shot on the eastern seaboard, from Florida to the Carolinas. Another advantage was that Atlanta still had old sections of town that looked like a northern city."

As the movie ends, the future looks brights indeed for the cyborg law enforcer. The future of the film series, however, remains in doubt. "RoboCop could go on and on, just as the james Bond series has," Pat Crowely commented, " but for that to happen, I personally think that RoboCop will have to evolve as a character. There will have to be changes in his design so that he will have more flexibility in what he can do. If RoboCop4 does happen and RoboCop is able to run a hundred miles an hour or jump across streets, that will be a great step forward for the character. It will be costly; but it will also be necessary, because we've run out of things for him to do as he is."