Boilerplate, JJ Abrams' new SteamPunk movie

See end of article for 2024 update...

"Bad Robot" studios finally make an actual robot movie..
From Clevver:

"It has always seemed a little odd that a production company called Bad Robot never made any movies that actually involved robots. We've overlooked that flaw until now, but it looks like we no longer have to. J.J. Abrams and company are fixing that strange oversight with Boilerplate.

"Boilerplate is about an early "steampunk" robot. Steampunk is the sub-genre of science fiction set in an era where steam power is still widely used, featuring futuristic technology as people of the era would have envisioned it to be. The robot in Boilerplate just so happens to be set in the Victorian Age. The robot fights with both Teddy Roosevelt and Lawrence of Arabia, starts a career in the movies, and even disappears during World War One. The story is based on the graphic novel "Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel." The tale first surfaced on the Web eleven years ago, but the novel was only published last year.

J.J. Abrams

"We're glad J.J. Abrams and crew decided to take the Bad Robot name seriously, but we're not quite sure what to expect from this one. Science fiction filmmaking is unusual by its sheer nature, and steampunk work even more so. With that in mind, we want to hear from you in the comments section below. Stay with us on Clevver movies for all the latest movie trailers and movie news. We'll see you next time."

J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Making Actual Robot Movie: Boilerplate, In Developmen.

Honestly, I don't have high hopes for this film, but I look forward to checking out the effort they put into it and have high hopes they will pull it off. If you see what I mean. JJ has cranked out some pretty good stuff, some of the favorites. I went into, for instance, Star Trek, really expecting the worst, but came away pleased with what he did.

Abrams has after all, created some of the most favored of shows on TV in recent times: Lost (Never watched it, couldn't stand it), Fringe (still watching it, love it, for the most part), Cloverfield (nice effort), Alias (one of those guilty pleasures), Undercovers (didn't work for me), and the soon to come, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Coming this year, MI-GP is directed by Brad Bird (Simpson, The Critic, Toy Story 3 and Up), writers include Abrams and Cruise; but then Simon Pegg is in it too, so maybe it has a chance; here's hoping on that one.

Well, regarding Boilerplate, we have a bit of a wait, look for it in 2013.

2024 update:

JJ Abrams' planned film about Boilerplate, a historical fiction robot created by artist Paul Guinan and writer Anina Bennett, seems to have stalled in development. In 2010, Abrams' Bad Robot Productions acquired the film rights to adapt the illustrated book Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel (2009), which tells the story of a fictional robot that interacts with real historical figures and events from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The project generated some early buzz, but there has been no significant news or updates about the film in the years since.

The absence of updates suggests the film may have been shelved or is languishing in development limbo, a common fate for many Hollywood projects, especially those involving complex historical settings and special effects. While Bad Robot Productions continues to work on numerous other films and series, there hasn't been any recent indication that Boilerplate is still in active production.