Taika Waititi and Drew Pearce Team Up for New Judge Dredd Movie

A brand new Judge Dredd movie is on the way, and this time, Taika Waititi is set to direct it. According to sources speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, this new project is already creating a lot of buzz in Hollywood, with studios eager to get involved.

Waititi, known for directing Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, will bring the famous British comic book character back to the big screen. Joining him is Drew Pearce, the writer behind action hits like The Fall Guy and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Pearce will write the script for the movie.

The people producing the film include Chris Kingsley, Jason Kingsley, and Ben Smith from Rebellion Developments, who own the rights to Dredd. Roy Lee from Vertigo Entertainment, Jeremy Platt, Natalie Viscuso, and Pearce himself are also involved as producers.

Sources say that Pearce and Waititi are not just working together by chance. The two filmmakers are reportedly longtime friends who grew up loving the Dredd comics. They’ve been looking for a project to work on together for years, and now they’ve finally found one.

Judge Dredd first appeared in the late 1970s, created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. His stories were first published in the British magazine 2000 AD. Dredd is a future police officer in the dark city of Mega-City One, where cops act as judge, jury, and executioner all in one.

The comics were known for their sharp satire, taking aim at legal systems pushed to extreme limits. Over the years, Dredd became one of Britain’s most famous comic book characters, starring in video games, books, and even appearing on postage stamps. According to reports, over 100 million Judge Dredd comics and graphic novels have been sold worldwide.

Hollywood has already tried to bring Dredd to life on screen twice. In 1995, Sylvester Stallone played the character in a big-budget film that didn’t go over well with critics or fans. Things improved in 2012 with a smaller, grittier version starring Karl Urban. That film, simply called Dredd, had a script from Alex Garland, who wrote 28 Days Later and later directed Civil War. Fans liked the 2012 version better, though it never got a sequel.

This new movie will reportedly stick closer to the original comics. While plot details are being kept secret for now, sources say the story will focus more on world-building and the dark humor that fans love.

The goal is to make a big sci-fi movie that feels fun, but also fits with today’s world. There are even hopes that this film could launch a bigger Dredd universe, with future movies and shows expanding the world even further across different platforms.

For now, fans will have to wait for more details, but one thing is clear: Judge Dredd is coming back, and this time Taika Waititi is in charge.

The news was first reported by THR.

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