Beside confirming the casting news, producers Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich also inform that filming will start in South Africa soon.
- Aug 14, 2010
AceShowbiz - Back in July, there were rumors floating around that Karl Urban has been cast in "Dredd". Now, producers Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich have confirmed the news, telling Empire Online, "We've cast a guy called Karl Urban to play Dredd."
During an interview which took place at Movie-Con on Friday, August 13, they additionally explained how the new movie adaptation of comic books will look like. "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," Macdonald described.
He, moreover, informed about the production plans, "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, Alex [Garland - scribe and producer] has a couple of ideas for other stories as well." Teasing further about the plot, Macdonald said to the site, "It's not based on any one comic, and John Wagner is involved in every decision."
"Judge Dredd" is based on a comic character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. The story is set in a futuristic world filled with violence, and the character is empowered to act as judge, jury and executioner. This comic strip has been turned into a feature film in 1995 with Sylvester Stallone tackling the lead role of the American law enforcement officer.
Karl Urban, best known for his portrayal of Eomer in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King", has appeared in such films"The Chronicles of Riddick, "The Bourne Supremacy" and "Star Trek". He is set to reprise his role as Dr. Leonard McCoy in untitled Star Trek sequel and will next be seen in "Red" and "Priest".
