Karl Urban Still Hopes To Do JUDGE DREDD: MEGA-CITY ONE and Says it Will Focus on Rookie Judges
We've got an update on Karl Urban's involvement with the upcoming Judge Dredd: Mega-City One series along with some new details that he's shared. Fans have been hoping to see Urban reprise his role of Judge Dredd so you'll be happy to hear that he's still in the running.
In an interview with Trek Movie, the actor once again confirmed that he is not attached to the series yet, but that he has had meetings with the producing team. He still wants to be in the series but his involvement rests in the hands of the creative team. He says:
"I’m not attached to it, although I did have a preliminary round of conversations with them. I am interested in doing it. There are a lot of great stories to tell there. It is up to them. I don’t know really where they are in the stages of development. If I get the opportunity, great, otherwise some else will do it, and we can all see some more Judge Dredd. I did read the comics when I was a kid, as I teenager I read Judge Dredd a lot."
Urban also offered some new information regarding the series and how it will be structured. He also reveals what Dredd's role in the series will be.
"Their idea for Mega-City One is was basically to build the show around more rookie judges and young, new judges and Dredd would come in and out and I said that I’ll do it, but it has to be done in a meaningful way. I can’t just come on and grunt and pull faces, there has to be a story there for him. There has to be a kind of little arc and a story we are trying to tell. So, we will see what they do."
The script for the series has already been completed. It was written by comic writer Rob Williams, who has worked mainly for the 2000 AD comics. When talking about that script, executive producer Jason Kingsley had this to say:
"I’ve read the pilot script by Rob and the team, and got that same thrill I did when I first discovered Judge Dredd. As we drive this project forward I’m always surprised by how much effort goes on behind-the-scenes to bring something like Mega-City One to the screen. I’m very pleased with how the whole project is coming together and looking forward to more exciting announcements in the coming months."
That's certainly exciting to hear and I hope they can pull off something completely awesome and also bring Urban along for the ride! When previously talking about what they are looking to do with the series, Kingsley said:
"Dark fantasy elements are one area that would be great to explore. The show will combine the macabre with the insane and the light-hearted. It's a big place, after all, with 400 million stories to tell.
"Long-form storytelling makes showing Mega-City One and its inhabitants much easier. Trying to fit all of that into a two-hour movie is very hard."
It sounds to me like they have something great brewing. All we can hope for at this point is that they execute it well. Here's the description of the series that was previously released.
The show is set in a future where the East Coast of the U.S. has become a crowded and crime-ridden megalopolis. It will be an ensemble drama about a team of Judges — futuristic cops invested with the power to be judge, jury, and executioner — as they deal with the challenges the future-shocked 22nd century throws at them.
What do you think about Mega-City One centering around a new team of young rookie Judges?