Taika Waititi and Drew Pearce are trying to bring Judge Dredd to the big screen again – more on the very welcome story here.
Now this is slightly unexpected, but certainly interesting. A third feature adaptation of the much-loved 2000AD strip Judge Dredd is heading to the screen, and it already looks as though it has a bit of momentum behind it.
Taika Waititi is set to direct the new film, which is going to be working from a screenplay by Drew Pearce. The latter’s last high profile movie was the underappreciated The Fall Guy, and for Waititi, his last feature was Next Goal Wins.
The pair are reportedly friends, and have been looking for a project to collaborate on. Then they landed on the pages of 2000AD, and the idea is for the new movie to launch a universe of Judge Dredd screen work.
We’ve heard that before, of course. 2012’s well-received Dredd, directed by Pete Travis and an uncredited Alex Garland, achieved a lot on a modest budget. There were plans then for more, but the limited box office returns for the movie ended financial interest. That was in spite of varying plans over the years for a new TV show, and talk of a fresh film.
This project has come pretty much out of the blue, though, some 30 years after the first Judge Dredd movie. That was big budget, directed by Danny Cannon, and infamously starred Sylvester Stallone when it really needed Clint Eastwood.
The new movie is being shopped around Hollywood, and hopefully someone writes the necessary cheque. If they do so, it’ll be two 2000AD adaptations on the go at once, with Duncan Jones’ Rogue Trooper on the way as well.
It’s early days for the new Judge Dredd, and there’s no clue as of yet as to who will be playing Mega City One’s key law enforcer. But, 13 years after the last film, there’s actual hope that we may see Judge Dredd on the big screen again.
