The Judge Dredd character featured throughout the 2000 AD comic universe and his own Dredd comics never got the opportunity to truly shine on the big screen. Aside from a 1995 feature film starring Sylvester Stallone that was considered a flop and an underperforming 2012 adaptation that has since become a cult classic, he never quite got his due. Now a new Judge Dredd movie is in the works with director Taika Waititi attached.
Fans will recognize Waititi for a number of major film and television projects, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love & Thunder. Now, according to a new report, he will helm the very different Judge Dredd movie with Fall Guy and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation screenwriter Drew Pearce behind the film’s screenplay.
Here’s what THR shared regarding the project:
“The logline is being kept under the visor, but the pitch is said to take inspiration more from the comics than the previous screen iterations, leaning into the world-building and dark humor.”
The outlet adds that this Judge Dredd adaptation will “be a fun sci-fi blockbuster that nonetheless speaks to this moment in culture.” There are big plans to make this endeavor the first installment in a major franchise, specifically to “launch a Dredd universe that could be explored with additional movies and shows across various platforms.”
Fans have been hoping for more than a decade that 2012’s Dredd could get a sequel with Karl Urban reprising his role as the titular character. With Urban’s continued popularity in the hit Amazon Prime series The Boys, it only increased fans’ desires to see him return.
Ultimately, however, it looks like the franchise will be headed in a new direction. There’s certainly a lot of potential with accurately adapting the vast and crazy world of Judge Dredd featured in the comics, so if done correctly, this could still be a great opportunity for fans. Hopefully we’ll have more details soon regarding the outcome of this project.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Judge Dredd news as we have it. As for now, it’ll be interesting to see what Taika Waititi and Drew Pearce have planned for Judge Dredd. Producers involved with the film include Dredd rights holders Chris Kingsley, Jason Kingsley and Ben Smith of Rebellion Developments, Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, Jeremy Platt, Natalie Viscuso and Pearce.