Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings)has been confirmed for the leading role in Judge Dredd by the producers Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich. Urban had been rumoured for the role already, but in a Movie-Con Q&A this evening the pair confirmed that he has been cast for the film, shooting in South Africa soon.
“The main thing about Dredd is that it’s a fantastic comic that was completely messed up 20 years ago,” said Macdonald. “Our idea is to make a very hard, R-rated, gritty, realistic movie of Dredd in Megacity, so we’ve got to get the tone right. He’s not going to take off his helmet. His bike is going to feel real. He’s going to hit people and it’s going to feel real. There’s been a change in comic-book movies; they were treated unseriously and now they’re treated seriously. We’ve cast a guy called Karl Urban to play Dredd. We’ll be shooting in Johannesburg, it’s being directed by Pete Travis, we’re shooting with the people who did District 9 – and if we get it right, we have a couple of ideas for other stories as well. It’s not based on any one comic, and John Wagner(2000 AD) is involved in every decision.”
The important point there is that he isn’t going to take off his helmet. Those of you out there that remember the fuck-awful 1995 Stallone helmed previous movie will still be having sweaty nightmares about it. The sight of Stallone in spandex looking like some kind of cosmic bell-end shouting “I am…..the luuure” every five minutes is enough to turn any potential viewers off, but it all sounds rather good doesn’t it? If they get it right, I think it will be a winner. Karl Urban is always good in what ever he is in and I am sure this will be no different.
If the producers are reading this, here is a reminder of what not to do:
