I remember going into 2012's "Dredd 3D" with very low expectations. After all, this was a reboot of "Judge Dredd," a terrible 90s action movie starring Sylvester Stallone as a tough street judge. What we got instead with "Dredd" was a genuinely visionary film. Director Pete Travis made something beautifully artful out of the savagery he depicted onscreen. Paul Leonard's exalting techno soundtrack also gave the film an avant-garde edginess that fit perfectly with the film's atmosphere. The 3D was also second to none. Travis, using color and the best use of slo-mo I could recall in ages, made a film that was wholly auteur-ed and singular in its vision. Let us not forget that the screenplay was written by Alex Garland, a man who burst onto the directorial scene in 2015 with his brilliant "Ex-Machina" and is now one of the most sought-after sci-fi filmmakers. Garland's lean, mean scenario had none of the superfluous tropes that would hamper down most of the action movies we see today. I also can't fail to mention Karl Urban ("Star Trek Beyond") who played a great, nasty hero as the titular character himself.
Despite critics missing the boat by greeting it mixed reviews and the film completely tanking at the Box-office, "Dredd" has become a cult classic over time with a solid, loyal fan base that has become a monster in itself. You can thank home video for that and streaming services as well. I can understand the fascination with the film. It is such a re-watchable endeavor. Hell, I remember being sent a copy of the DVD by the studio and seeing it around 5 or 6 times in a span of a few months, which is quite rare for me to do.
Urban has mentioned countless times that he is very interested in making a sequel. This all leads to the rather disappointing news that Fox had turned down the script for a potential second chapter. Then the fan petitions for a sequel were hitting the web, most notably "Bring Back Dredd," which has gathered 152,000 signatures thus far.
Now comes the news that Urban is in talks to star in a Judge Dredd TV series. At the Star Trek Las Vegas Convention he was quoted as saying: "“I am in discussions with them about that, I told them that if they write the material and give Dredd something to do and give him a function, I will be there. I would love to.”
This all looks rather promising as TV now isn't as looked down upon as it was a decade or so ago, and there is a lot more potential in expanding the universe you are trying to create. In other words, it would be perfect for a Judge Dredd venture and especially if Urban and the 2012 movie's creative minds do take part in it. The latter is still up in the air, but we would think they'd want to have some kind of role in it, especially since what they built with "Dredd 3D" has resulted into a hardcore following.
[Comic Book]