Karl Urban, best known for playing “Bones” McCoy in the new Star Trek, has been offered the lead in a re-imagining of Judge Dredd. The “judge, jury, and executioner” comic book character was popularized by Sylvester Stallone’s growling rendition in 1995.
Director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) extended the position and a deal is being hammered out, according to Urban in an interviews with Collider. Urban told the outlet Travis is planning to start shooting in October or November in South Africa and, most importantly for fans, Urban will wear the helmet throughout the movie. As a fan of the comic since he was a teen, Urban feels strongly that Dredd is a faceless symbol of justice and Stallone’s removal of the headgear ruined the 1995 movie. Just the helmet?
Urban confirmed his involved to 3News on Monday. “Yes, it’s true. I am the law,” he said.
Alex Garland (Sunshine) penned the script, titled “Peach Trees” and already floating around the Internet, that centers Dredd in a post-apocalyptic future crippled by crime. A script review at ScriptShadow sort of stole my thunder, but I’ll hopefully get around to posting my own thoughts very soon. By the way, they rated the script as “impressive,” and I concur.
The production will face an uphill battle in convincing anyone who remembers the original to care about this “gritty” take, while somehow selling the movie on Urban’s name alone, since his marginally recognizable face will be covered.
Urban will appear in Summit Entertainment’s comic book flick Red next and says shooting starts on Star Trek 2 in May or June of 2011.
