Taika Waititi, the eclectic mind behind Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Jojo Rabbit (2019), is set to bring a British comic book icon to the big screen once again, with the filmmaker attached to direct a new feature film take on Judge Dredd.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, his latest take aims to take inspiration more from the comics than the previous screen iterations, with a larger emphasis on world-building and dark humour. The goal will also be for the film to launch an interconnected “Dredd Universe”, which can be built upon with additional movies and TV series across multiple platforms à la the Marvel and DC universes.
Action movie writer Drew Pearce (Fall Guy, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) is also attached to the upcoming project as its scriptwriter, while its producers include Dredd rights holders Chris Kingsley, Jason Kingsley and Ben Smith of Rebellion Developments, alongside Jeremy Platt (At the Devil’s Door), Natalie Viscuso (The Mist), and Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee (Until Dawn).
The now-iconic police officer traces his roots back to the 1970s with a debut in the British anthology 2000 AD. Created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, Dredd was positioned as a satire on the judicial system when it’s taken too far, growing in popularity over the years with numerous comic book adaptations.
Dredd first appeared on the silver screen in the 1995 sci-fi flick Judge Dredd, which starred Sylvester Stallone (Rambo) as the titular anti-hero, but launched to mixed reception. A second adaptation, the 2012 Karl Urban-led reboot Dredd, fared much better due to its respect for the source material and tightly crafted action set pieces.
As of now, no further information has been released regarding the film’s plot or casting, although fans of the 2012 film might be disappointed if they are expecting Urban to reprise his role, as the star currently has his hands full playing cocky Hollywood B-lister Johnny Cage, who looks to be the major focus of Warner Bros. upcoming game-to-screen sequel, Mortal Kombat II.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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