A live-action television show starring Judge Dredd is currently in development. No one could have predicted that Dredd would have turned into the cult classic it’s become. Though the 2012 film was well-received by critics, it landed with a commercial thud at the box office, and that seemed like it would be the end for the live-action exploits of the comic book character. Between the failures of that movie, and the 1995 Sylvester Stallone flop Judge Dredd, it just didn’t seem to be in the stars.

Something magical happened after Dredd hit home video. People started watching it. More than that, they fell in love. Karl Urban (Star Trek Beyond) wowed fans with his brutal take on John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s creation, and a social media campaign was spawned overnight. The chorus of calls for more Dredd have done nothing but grow louder over the years, though so far they’ve fallen on deaf ears. That is all about to change.

In a press release, IM Global Television announced that Judge Dredd is gearing up for a live action television adaptation called Judge Dredd: Mega City One, after the post-apocalyptic, dystopian super-metropolis depicted in the comic books. The new series is said to be an ensemble that follows a group of judges as they maintain their ironclad grip as judge, jury, and executioners in the face of rising violence. The series is being produced by Mark Stern (Battlestar Galactica) and Stuart Ford (Hacksaw Ridge) alongside Jason and Chris Kingsley (Dredd). A poster was also unveiled, which you can see below. In a joint statement, the Kingsleys said:

“We’re very excited to be beginning the journey to get more of Judge Dredd’s Mega-City One on the television screen. Thanks to the legions of fans who have kept up pressure on social media, and a lot of background work and enthusiasm, we aim to make a big budget production that will satisfy both our vast comics audience and the even greater general screen-watching public.”

While no word is been given about whether the new series will share the same universe as the Urban film, the involvement of the Kingsleys and Ford (who also produced Dredd) should be exciting news for fans who’ve been pushing for more Judge Dredd for almost five years now. It’s certainly tantalizing to think that we could be seeing more from Urban as the iconic comic character, and the actor has previously shared his willingness to reprise the role. Just last year, Urban said he wanted Amazon or Netflix to make the series.

Getting this far is certainly big news in itself, but landing Urban and making this a proper continuation would be the coup de grâce. It would represent the ultimate success for fan driven campaigns to see more of what they want land on the screens. At this point, however, just getting more from the character and world, even as a separate universe, would be enough provided it managed to keep a similar tone.

Of course, no one could fault you for being skeptical about this news. Every few months it seems as though news of a sequel or TV spinoff pops back up only to sputter out a short while later. The routine of getting excited and holding your breath has certainly be wearisome for fans, although this time there does seem to be some legs on the project, and the producers have even go so far as to release a poster for the series.

If nothing else, the poster reveal is a good indication that things are pretty serious this time, even without any confirmed casting or crew announcements. With so much yet to be revealed about the upcoming series, there’s bound to be some new information popping up soon.

We’ll keep you posted on the details about Judge Dredd: Mega City One as they develop.

Source: IM Global Television