Little known fact is that Dolph wanted to adapt the infamous cyberpunk graphic novel RANXEROX created by Italians (Stefano) Tamburini and (Tanino) Liberatore about a violent and out-of-control mechanical creature (made from Rank Xerox machines) falls in love with an underage girl called Lubna. It may not be as known today but it was probably up there with THE WATCHMEN in the 80s (at least in Europe) but way more racy and violent.
Dolph had mentioned it in an interview to French magazine IMPACT (#20, April 1989) but I didn't know it was that serious.
D.L.: Je connais bien la bande dessinée mais le projet hésite sans arrêt à se mettre en route. Il y a d'autres personnages de bandes dessinées érotiques françaises que je souhaiterais me voir proposer. Il faut du nouveau et surtout du plus grand que nature.
I know the graphic novel well but the project never gets off the ground. There are other French erotic comic book/graphic novels characters that I would like to be offered. You need novelty and moreover, "bigger than life".
Like other of his own projects he was developing at the time (INTERSTATE 10, NIGHTCLUBBING - both with Grace Jones- and more especially the NYC thriller IVORY CITY) Dolph was trying to finance it and called (among others he was talking to I guess) director Slava Tsukerman to direct it. Tsukerman was known for his cult film LIQUID SKY (which DARK ANGEL / I COME IN PEACE most likely borrowed the endorphins drug stealing idea from). It was Tsukerman who brought to my attention the RANXEROX talks and meetings he had with Dolph about the project.*
*(while I was just asking him about the DARK ANGEL connection with his film, which he says he never talked to the producers - Baxley on the other hand didn't mentioned the film but initially wanted to hire its DP, Yuri Neyman)
Among others, Christophe Gans (CRYING FREEMAN, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, SILENT HILL, new BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) also tried to set it up with producer Samuel Hadida in the 90s. It was pretty serious, announced and brought to film markets (I saw the brochure/pamphlet and script), he wrote a script with his partner, and Hadida even got Roger Avary to do a draft for $500 (I think it's Avary who said he'd do it for nothing)! Again the financing, artistic views (Gans can skip a project because of casting - like NEMO) or the cards weren't there so it fell into development hell. In 1994-1995 I believe they had Marco Brambilla (director of DEMOLITION MAN) attached.