Judge Dredd. It’s the kind of name that reminds you no matter how high on the cool-scale you think you are, you haven’t hit the ceiling – because he IS the ceiling (and the law).
Dredd, the most famous hero to come out of 2000 AD (a weekly, half-century old British sci-fi comic series) wields what I believe to be a truly under-celebrated super power – lack of emotion. Dredd’s complete and utter abandonment of all trivial human feelings makes him the perfect cop (and in his world of Mega-City 1, judge, jury, and executioner). While Dredd’s use of incredible technological gadgets played a major role in the original comic strip series, it was his literal inability to feel the human emotion of “fear” that makes him (ironically) terrifying to all the street scum of Mega-City 1.
Seriously – he kills a zombie demon known as “Judge Fear” by punching him in the face without a fight.
Dredd’s name however, was dragged through the mud pretty bad by the 1995 mega flop starring Sylvester Stallone. Remember when the ratio of good super hero movies to bad was completely slanted in favor of the latter? I do. It was called “The 90’s,” and while some of the greatest things ever made came out of this decade – the comic book movies absolutely sucked, and Judge Dredd was no exception. It was a nasty scar on an otherwise solid track record; the Judge Dredd comics were great, the Judge Dredd pinball machine was great, but the Judge Dredd movie adaptation was an automatic fail. That was until 2012…
Dredd 3D, starring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby, hit theaters in summer of 2012 and to everyone’s surprise (including my own), the movie was actually good. Like, really good. It was dark, gritty, and beautiful. It launched you into the world of Dredd without hesitation and gave us just the right amount of character development of Judge Dredd and the then-rookie Judge Anderson to make us want more. The effects were spectacular, the rhythm of the film seemed to strike the right balance, and the epic camp factor that comes standard with every Judge Dredd product was absolutely delivered.
Sadly, the damage to Dredd’s reputation done by Stallone was too much to overcome. Dredd 3D fell just short of it’s initial budget of $45 million only raking in $41 at the box office. Any hope for a sequel seemed all but lost.
But then… Dredd 3D amassed a huge cult following in a very short period of time after the film’s initial release. Once word started to spread about how great the movie actually was, DVD sales went through the roof in both America and the UK, making it the number 1 selling DVD in both countries. After the film had garnered more than $10 million in home media sales, talks, rumors, and demands for a sequel once again began.
This is where I talk about DAY OF DREDD 2014.
At the time of this writing, the “Make a DREDD Sequel” group on facebook is rapidly approaching 100,000 members. Support for a sequel is loud and strong. There is also a dedicated webpage on the 2000AD website where you can sign a petition for the sequel to be made and get updates on the sequel’s creation. Karl Urban even released a video on youtube stating how much he appreciated the fan support and that they’re “working” on making Dredd 2 a reality.
The official group just put out a press release naming Wednesday October 1st the DAY OF DREDD 2014 urging fans to make a big push at showing that there is still clear and present demand for DREDD 2. What I’m getting it as… this sequel might actually happen due to fan support, and you can help!
Here’s how you can be a part of it:
1) Join the facebook group.
2) Sign the Petition.
3) Buy the movie on October 1st.
4) Watch the movie.
5) Tell your friends how much you liked it.
And as for the rest of you? … Judgement Time.
Mike Staub
I will be involved. DAY OF DREDD!