Judge Dredd

[Tribal Warfare]

SCOOP: Karl Urban To Be Cast As Judge Dredd
Submitted by Rich Johnston on July 21, 2010

We’ve been hearing word about the new Judge Dredd movie for quite some time. A step up from the Sylvester Stallone movie, it’s intended to be closer to the darker tone of the comic book. And it was all the buzz at Cannes earlier this year.

Well, Bleeding Cool now understands that Karl Urban will be offered the role of Judge Dredd in the new movie. Or at least Judge Dredd’s chin. Because one of the main provisos of the deal is that, just as in the comic, Judge Dredd will not remove his helmet. But of course that chin will now be seen in glorious three dimensions. And, contract willing, Karl Urban is of a mind to accept it.

Best known of late for playing Bones McCoy in the recent JJ Abrams Star Trek movie as well as Cesar in Xena Warrior Princess and Eomer in Lord Of The Rings, as well as the upcoming Red, he certainly has the right geek-cred background. But this is the role that is likely to make him a geek god supreme.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Yep, people who don't know any better compare it to the The Raid: Redemption

"The Raid" was awesome. I'm still not sure whether the Indonesians have great special-effects guys, or they simply killed all the extras.

The other projectionist I work with (who is a huge sci-fi geek) saw "Dredd 3D" while test-running it and called me to say how good it was, which--like the rest of you--surprised me. I'm sure it won't make much money, although it may make a little more than expected once the good word-of-mouth gets out, but I'm definitely going to have to catch it.

[QuikSsurfer]

Just got back from seeing this. 10/10
****ing awesome flick. I definitely got a Raid vibe from it - solely from it taking place in a huge building where ultra-violence took place.
The pacing was near perfect. If you go see it, dish out the extra bucks for 3d.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by QuikSsurfer

Just got back from seeing this. 10/10
****ing awesome flick. I definitely got a Raid vibe from it - solely from it taking place in a huge building where ultra-violence took place.
The pacing was near perfect. If you go see it, dish out the extra bucks for 3d.

Nice. I've been waiting for that ne summer movie to sneak up and be a great escape for a couple of hours. One that nobody really saw coming. Looking forward to seeing it in 3D, on your recommendation (normally I'd avoid 3D like an Ethipoian hooker).

[Gravedigger]

I saw this today and I came away feeling I got my money's worth. It took a bit to get going but about halfway in it clicks on all cylinders and doesn't let go till the end. I liked Karl Urban, he was the perfect amount of gruff, violent, and dark humored that I felt he was the best part of the movie, just like it should be. I didn't care for the rookie much of the film until towards the end when she wasn't just a kid spouting laws to pass a test. The slo-mo stuff was cool for a time or two but then it just came down to bullet time-like effects.

Everyone kept saying how ultra-violent this was, I didn't see it as ultra-violent. There was alot of blood, bullets piercing in slow motion, alot of people being dropped from great heights, and a wacky death in there from time to time. Ultra violent suggests gory, like some of the Saw films or Seven, I didn't get that from this, just a cop exacting justice in the coolest ways he could think of. The uniqueness showcases Judge Dredd's methods as a man to be feared and not the Sylvester Stallone version who sent more people to jail than executed. If you're looking for it to be the opposite of what Sly Stallone put out there then you'll be more than pleased with what is provided.

If there was one thing I would've liked would have been to see more people know Judge Dredd and the terror he was. When he walks in to the Peach Trees the citizens and bad guys alike aren't really afraid of him. Ma-Ma doesn't even know what a badass he is until someone points it out later in the film. Also the woman who plays Cersei in Game of Thrones was the villain Ma-Ma in this film and I don't think she touched her potential like she does in GoT.

Overall I'll go see the sequel because Karl Urban says he wants to explore the choice storyline and dark judges from the comics, and I think if they want to build a franchise that's the right way to go for the sequel. This one wasn't as much of an origin story as it was a story you already know, they just hit you in the face with it instead of trying to build a somehow sympathetic Dredd like Stallone and Co. attempted foolishly.

[Tribal Warfare]

Opening Day Dredd Box Office

Lionsgate’s British/South African co-production low-budget reboot of John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s cult favorite comics Dredd 3D (2,506 locations) did dreadful on Friday. Surprising, because Comic-Con fans seemed to accept this new Dredd as the real deal last summer, unlike the Sly Stallone version. Reviews were good, and audiences gave the pic a ‘B’ CinemaScore which won’t help or hurt word of mouth. Karl Urban stars as the titular character with Olivia Thirlby in an R-rated dark and gritty pic without lycra or gold codpieces. But his exaggerated Clint Eastwood-style line readings may not have been obviously satirical enough. The bad news for Reliance Entertainment is that Deepak Nayer and Stuart Ford who put the picture together committed Reliance to fund the $40M gap and backstop the P&A. The good news for Lionsgate is that it has minimal risk. The studio is only responsible for P&A costs. Interestingly, LG’s marketing campaign created a comic strip prequel to the film with the publisher 2000 AD as well as a Motion Comic that was released online. Dredd 3D also opened the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto Film Festival and as well as Fantastic Fest in Austin. But there was never much of an effort to widen the film’s appeal or the audience for it. Directed by Pete Travis from a screenplay written by Alex Garland, the film is produced by Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, and Alex Garland. Best about the film are those stunning slow motion photography sequences. For a sequel to go ahead, Alex Garland recently said that the film would need to earn at least $50 million at the North American box office.

[JD10367]

Not unexpected. But there's crap at the movies right now so the film should have a couple of weeks to build an audience.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by JD10367

Not unexpected. But there's crap at the movies right now so the film should have a couple of weeks to build an audience.

Yea, Septemeber is usually pretty slow, but this year has been evern worse than normal.


Doesnt look like things will heat up until Taken 2 and Frankenweenie open in a few weeks, then the usual run of horror films leading up to Halloween.

[Molitoth]

Just watched it, not bad at all!

[RedDread]

Finally saw this thing and it was very good. Usually I don't like movies that are just over the top gory, but this one was fantastic. Urban did a hell of a job.

[Sure-Oz]

Saw it earlier on Netflix rent...def. exceeded expectations. I hope they make a sequel. Looked like it would've been sweet to see in 3d in theaters.

[Tribal Warfare]

Karl Urban On ‘Dredd’ Sequel: ‘It’s Up To The Fans’

2012′s Dredd was an attempt to reboot the cult-favorite character who originated in the British science fiction anthology 2000 A.D. In 1995, Sylvester Stallone starred as the helmeted dispenser of justice in a dystopian, seemingly post-apocalyptic future, who acted as judge, jury and executioner on the spot. While that movie remains a camp-tastic guilty pleasure, the Karl Urban-starring remake adopted the far darker, hyper-violent tone of the comics.

The film failed to catch on with the general movie-going public despite proving to be quite an excellent comic-book action flick. It’s total worldwide box office gross was about $32 million, on a $50 million budget. It’s surprising success on DVD and Blu-Ray (selling up to 650,000 copies, “making it the best-selling new release title of the year,” according to a press release at the time), seemed to reignite new hope for a sequel.


Dredd was released on home video over six months ago, but no official word on a sequel has been heard despite its post-theatrical release success. Star Karl Urban hasn’t given up hope, however. While at Comic-Con 2013 to help promote his upcoming Fox series Almost Human, Urban voiced his belief that it’ll only happen if the fans want it badly enough, saying:

Karl Urban: The more people that campaign for it, the more people that email, Twitter, write-in to Lionsgate saying ‘we want to see more of this,’ then the more likelihood we will get to see it; we’re certainly doing everything we can to make sure it happens.

Judge Dredd Breaching Room Karl Urban On Dredd Sequel: Its Up To The Fans

On paper, Dredd seemed to be a safe bet: Urban stole his scenes as Dr. McCoy in the rebooted Star Trek, this project promised the prospect of the always-popular gritty reboot, and it even featured Game of Thrones star Lena Headey as the main villain, a twisted, drug-dealing matriarch. Also, the film would keep to the core of the source material, in which Judge Dredd never once removes his helmet.

It’s interesting to note that star Urban and writer Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later) were actively discussing their sequel ideas up until the film’s release – everyone behind Dredd really seemed to think they had a big hit on their hands. Garland talked about a potential trilogy, which could include pivotal comic-book villains like the Dark Judges (undead former Judges so extreme in their world-view that all of humanity needs to be eradicated due to living humans’ potential to commit crimes) and the murderous tyrannosaurus rex Satanus.

Judge Dredd 2000 AD Karl Urban On Dredd Sequel: Its Up To The Fans

So how likely is this? Searching Twitter for #dredd, #dreddsequel and #dredd2 does yield a good number of hits, especially during the past few days, there is a Facebook page clambering for a second entry, and some reports from last month have the Dredd DVD spiking in Amazon sales when the sequel rumors started flying. Judging (ahem) by Urban’s plea to fans, no one has given him a contract to sign yet, though.

Still, such strong home video sales point toward the steady building of a cult audience – and it’s a world which deserves some expansion, especially considering Urban’s interest in seeing Dredd take to exile in response to his character’s disillusionment in the “big lie,” namely that the Judges are doing what’s best for humanity.

[L.A. Chieffan]

All they have to do is wait for Raid part 2 and then they can make the sequel

[Garcia Bronco]

I thought this was a decent movie.

[Bambi]

Dredd was one of my favorite movies in the last 5 years. It could have been much more but hopefully the sequel will get greenlit.

[whoman69]

I was glad to see Urban play the role closer to the character. He didn't take the easy way out and play without the helmet like Stallone did. In the Stallone version its more just another Stallone action pic. In this one its a Judge Dredd film.