Producers for the upcoming Judge Dredd have confirmed that Karl Urban, who played McCoy in the most recent Star Wars Trek film, has been hired to play the title character. In addition to the casting confirmation, producer Andrew MacDonald said the new movie will be a very hard R-rated, gritty, realistic movie, and not the “completely messed up [movie from]20 years ago.”
Plans from the producing duo of MacDonald and Allon Reich, have the bike looking real, and Urban not removing his helmet at all during the movie. While Urban is still relatively unknown, I would put money that Urban’s full face will be seen in the flick at least once.
The Pete Travis directed Judge Dredd begins shooting in Johannesburg, South Africa later this year.
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Rob Schneider better be in this.
I really hope his face never gets revealed (or they could go for the massive ‘censored!’ sticker from that one strip in 1977). Regardless, I’m all up for a realistic take – Apocalypse War style. Still interested to know what the plot is going to be, and I can hope from this announcement that they won’t try to bring the more fantastical and outlandish elements of the Dreddverse into play (as those are extremely difficult to get right).
This is the best Dredd news I have heard in a very long time! Karl Urban I think will be good as Dredd and if they are already promising no helmet removal, I’m already sold!
I would pay real money to see a new Judge movie and I’m happy this is finally official news.
Karl Urban was good in Chronicles of Riddick and even better in Star Trek. I’m sure he’ll do fine as Judge Dredd.
I’ve recently watched the Stallone Dredd movie and it is dreddful (groan) but it does have a few saving graces:
The production design was awesome – it will be cool to see how the bring life in Mega City One to the screen years on.
Everyone blames Stallone for removing the helmet but from the behind the scene extra’s and making of book he was adamant that they retain the look of Dredd – the Judges uniforms were a good approximation of the comics thanks to Stalllone’s insistence.
The casting was pretty good (with the exception of Schneider)
It was the script and story that let the whole escapade down.
Double Whammy with Fries anyone?
Hunter Dan – that all sounds about right to me. There were a ton of things that they got right in the original film. The ABC robot was simply amazing and the judges looked great with helmets on. Not to mention the look of Mega City One throughout the movie. My real annoyance goes to how much they altered characters or storylines. Judge Griffin is a bad guy or Fergee a diminutive robot hacker? sigh.
Erik, I hear you brother. Plus a scientist vs a judge in unarmed combat? Judge wins hands down.
I guess I would be remiss to mention that Mean Machine (and the rest of the Angel Gang) was really well done too..
The sad thing is I got a tattoo of Judge Dredd in 1994 from one of the Eagle Comics reprints. Now most of my friends make jokes that I am a “huge” Stallone fan. I think that’s what makes me the most sad about that film.
What’s wrong with being a Stallone fan? ;-D He’s on a resurgence don’t you know.
LOL I actually like plenty of Stallone films. I just don’t like that all of my friends only know Judge Dredd as he portrayed it. I have never had any close friends that read any 2000AD comics, so I die a little inside every time that joke gets used and someone gives me a look of pity. And as a further aside… trying to explain that I had the tattoo 2 years before the film and really like the comic generally doesn’t help the situation any.
I wonder if they’ll do something with either Dredd before he becomes a Judge and that’s when you see his face or do something like the Spider-man movies and at some point he takes a direct shot to the face and it breaks his helmet and you see his face until he grabs up another helmet. I like the old Judge Dredd movie in the same way that I like the old Mario Bros. movie and Masters of the Universe and The Punisher (also Lundgren). I’m really excited that it’s going to be an R-rated movie this time, the first was too tame. Just hopefully they don’t cryogenically freeze him and when he gets unfrozen he knows how to knit really well, wait that doesn’t sound right.