The last big-screen outing for the character Judge Dredd, starred Sylvester Stallone (Rambo) in the title role, and was a huge critical and commercial disappointment (despite the Box Office takings being above its budget, and most viewers saying that despite its problems, it was still an action/sci-fi film that was fun to watch); one that Stallone himself has said changed too much from the comics, and was “a real missed opportunity” that “didn’t live up to what it could have been”; but despite the fact that the film is often seen as the catalyst that sent Stallone’s career on a direct-to-video downturn for several years, there are still people that think the idea has potential; which is why plans for a remake are being sold at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Andrew Macdonald (the Scottish film producer who’s worked on movies such as 1996’s Trainspotting, 2002’s 28 Days Later, and 2007’s Sunshine) is the driving force behind the remake, and intends to take the idea right back to it’s roots; building the framework for the movie from the original British comic books, 2000AD, which first featured Judge Dredd; the character that was originally created by writer John Wagner, editor Pat Mills, and artist Carlos Ezquerra, and lived in a world filled with violence; where the police force were forced to become judge, jury, and executioner, all-in-one, in order to keep the peace; a world where he is, the law.
Vantage Point’s Pete Travis is currently attached to direct the film, which has already been scripted by Alex Garland (who as well as writing the novel, The Beach, penned the script for both Sunshine, and 28 Days Later, and is responsible for one of the Halo scripts that have been binned by Universal and Fox), and received praise from the original (and main) Judge Dredd writer, John Wagner; who has read the script, and said that it is “high-octane, edge of the seat stuff”, and that it “gives a far truer representation of Dredd than the first movie” which he isn’t shy about saying he “hated” because “it was Dredd pressed through the Hollywood cliché mill; a dynastic power struggle that had little connection with the character we know from the comic.”
Provided that Macdonald can find a buyer at Cannes, he will be producing the film through his production company, DNA Films; having recently received the financial backing needed to do so from Reliance Big Entertainment, who have provided a fairly thrifty budget that rests on the lower side of $50 million.
A budget that may make it hard to fully realize the world of Dredd, as the character’s violence filled world, and Mega-City setting will be no mean feat to recreate (Dredd’s Mega-City One covers much of the Eastern United States, and houses over 400 million people, with most citizens living in huge apartment blocks that contain over 50,000 residences), and will require a decidedly Blade Runner type look at minimum, to be passable.
That feat will be made even harder, due to the fact that Macdonald and co. are currently planning on releasing the new film in 3D, but; as long as Cannes provides a buyer, there’s maybe a little more funding thrown in, and it’s not pushed too much into the commercial (Hollywood) realm; Judge Dredd could be a real head-turner, because, as Stallone said just a couple of years ago; Dredd has “such great potential”.
