Last month, it was reported that Warner Bros. had lost the rights to Akira, effectively killing Taika Waititi‘s live-action adaptation for good. However, the acclaimed filmmaker has already found a replacement project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Waititi and screenwriter Drew Pearce have teamed up for a new feature film based on the Judge Dredd comics. Plot details remain under wraps, although sources have described the pair’s pitch as having taken more inspiration from the comics than the previous big-screen adaptations. The movie will be “a fun sci-fi blockbuster that nonetheless speaks to this moment in culture” and could serve as the first entry in a new Dredd shared universe. No studio is attached yet, but as one of the hottest packages of the year, it won’t be long before someone in Hollywood snaps it up.
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Waititi is best known for directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), as well as What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Jojo Rabbit (2019). He also co-created the series Reservation Dogs and Time Bandits. As for Pearce, he’s also known for his involvement in the MCU, having written the screenplays for Iron Man 3 (2013) and the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King, the latter of which he also directed. His other screenwriting credits include Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Hotel Artemis, Hobbs & Shaw, The Fall Guy, and Amazon’s upcoming The Thomas Crown Affair starring Michael B. Jordan.
Judge Dredd’s Big-Screen History, Explained
Judge Dredd was first adapted for the big screen in 1995, with a self-titled movie starring Sylvester Stallone. Like the comics, Judge Dredd follows Stallone’s titular law enforcement officer in the crime-ridden futuristic metropolis of Mega-City One. After being framed for murder, Dredd must work to stop his half-brother Rico from taking over Mega-City One with his army of superhuman clones. Judge Dredd received mixed reviews from critics, earning praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and music score, but criticism for its unfaithfulness to the source material and Stallone’s acting.
A more faithful Judge Dredd movie was released almost 20 years later, with Karl Urban succeeding Stallone in the title role. Simply titled Dredd, the 2012 sci-fi movie is notable for featuring a screenplay written by Alex Garland, who also reportedly finished directing the feature in an uncredited capacity. Despite a strong 80% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Dredd struggled at the box office, grossing just $41.5 million worldwide, not enough to make back its $45 million production budget.
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Why Judge Dredd Still Needs a Comics-Accurate Adaptation
While two live-action takes on 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd each captured aspects of the character, fans still want to see a proper take on Dredd.
In the years following Dredd’s release, the movie has become a cult classic, with many fans expressing interest in seeing Garland and Urban reteam for a sequel. A Judge Dredd television series was at one point in development, with Urban in talks to reprise his role, but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now likely dead, given that Waititi and Pearce are now working with the Dredd rights holders on their forthcoming feature-length take.
Dredd is currently streaming on HBO Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Release Date
September 21, 2012
Runtime
95 minutes
Director
Pete Travis
Writers
Alex Garland
