Judge Dredd was a science fiction movie that was released in 1995 about a judge (played by Sylvester Stallone) who is wrongly accused of murder in a dystopian future. The film grossed just shy of $35M at the domestic box office, but it has been set for a reboot in 2012.
The reboot will be simply entitled DREDD, according to recent reports. The character Judge Dredd is one of the most famous UK comic characters, and was ranked 7th greatest comic character by popular British film magazine Empire.
British film company DNA films will be working with Rebellion Developments and IM Global to bring the movie to fruition after almost two years. An official synopsis has been released.
“DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot – if necessary.”
The film will star Karl Urban (Star Trek) as Dredd, and Olivia Thirlby (Juno) as Cassandra Anderson. Pete Travis (Vantage Point) will direct, and Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) will deliver the screenplay. It is interesting to note that Garland will also be writing the screenplay for the upcoming Halo, a sure sign of confidence in his writing.
The 1995 Judge Dredd was criticized for not honoring its comic book roots. DREDD sounds like it will be a little closer to the comic book vision. It is slated for a 2012 release.
