"Dredd" was a reboot of "Judge Dredd," a terrible 90s action movie starring -yikes- Sylvester Stallone. What we got instead with 2012's "Dredd" was a genuinely visionary film.
Director Pete Travis made something quite beautiful 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 to the directorial scene last year with his brilliant "Ex-Machina." His lean, mean scenario had none of the superfluous tropes that would hamper down most of the action movies we see today. I can't fail to mention Karl Urban ("Star Trek Beyond) who played a great, nasty hero as the titular character himself.
Now, what if we told you that Travis didn't direct Travis and it was actually Garland? Shocking, right? Well, that's what Urban has said to JoBlo. When asked the question of when he might reprise the titular role in a “Dredd” sequel came up, Urban, who was promoting his latest film “Bent,” shocked sci-fi fans by saying Alex Garland is the true director of the cult classic.
“A huge part of the success of ‘Dredd’ is in fact due to Alex Garland and what a lot of people don’t realize is that Alex Garland actually directed that movie,” said Urban.
A “Dredd” sequel is now something that is high atop our must-see lists, not that it wasn’t before, but now its been amplified. Garland has made a name for himself as a director with “Ex-Machina” and “Annihilation” both receiving positive reviews.
Urban seems keen on the idea of having Garland officially direct: “Right? That would rock my world. I just hope when people think of Alex Garland’s filmography that ‘Dredd’ is the first film that he made before ‘Ex Machina.’ You think about it in those terms; it goes ‘Dredd,’ ‘Ex Machina,’ ‘Annihilation.’”
Garland has been credited as a writer and producer on “Dredd.” Was Travis fired during production? Who knows but more news will surely come from this bombshell courtesy of the actor.
Despite critics missing the boat by giving it mixed reviews and it completely fizzling at the Box-office, "Dredd" has become a cult classic over time with a solid, loyal fan-base that has basically 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 film. 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 a LOT for me, I rarely re-visit a film that soon. Why and how has this cult fanbase happened? Because "Dredd" is not just an artful piece of work, but it's also just a damn entertaining film.
Urban has mentioned countless times that he is very interested in making a sequel. This all leads me to the rather disappointing news that Fox seems to have turned down the script for a potential second chapter. Its co-creator John Wagner spoke to ScreenGeek last year about recently pitching Garland's screenplay, "Judge Death," to FOX:
“That was actually the first script that Alex Garland did was a Judge Death script but Fox, who they were dealing with at the time, turned it down. They wanted more nuts and bolts before they went into the [metaphysical].”
For the time being there are fan petitions for a sequel a little bit everywhere on the web, most notably "Bring Back Dredd," which has gathered 152,000 signatures thus far. You can sign up right HERE.