Mega news for Judge Dredd fans - plans are underway to turn the 22nd century lawman and classic anti-hero into a live action TV series entitled Judge Dredd: Mega City One.
The news was exclusively revealed by Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday evening and the US publication says that the series will be an ensemble drama about a team of Judges in the sprawling US east coast metropolis of Mega City One.
Judge Dredd first appeared in British sci-fi publication 2000AD in 1977. Created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, the taciturn and emotionless character, who is a mix of cop and judge delivering immediate street justice, has gone on to become one of the most respected and acclaimed comic book heroes of all time.
In 2012, Star Trek actor Karl Urban took the lead role in Dredd:3D and won universal acclaim for his portrayal of ol' stony face and also much respect for not taking his helmet off for the duration of the film, unlike Sylvester Stallone in the universally ridiculed 1995 film adaptation.
Casting has yet to take place for the new series.
IM Global Television president Mark Stern, who developed Battlestar Galactica, Helix, and Defiance for Syfy, is one of the producers of the new show and in a statement he said: "This is one of those seminal sci-fi properties that seems to only become and more relevant with age. Not only is it a rich world with biting social commentary, but it’s also fun as hell!"
Last year, Karl Urban told RTÉ Entertainment that he was still holding out for another Dredd movie following the critical success of Dredd: 3D.
