Comic-based TV shows are incredibly popular nowadays, and so the news of a series based on Judge Dredd stories from Rebellion Developments came as fabulous news to many. Unfortunately, the announcement back in May didn't include a premiere date, and we now know that we'll be waiting quite a while before we see Judge Dredd on the small screen. Rebellion CEO Jason Kinglsey has this to say about a timetable for Judge Dredd: Mega-City One:
My best guess if that it's at least two years away. But we're so early in the process that things could happen a bit faster, or much more slowly.
Well, we did know that the project was in the early stages of development, but two years (give or take) still sounds like an awfully long time to wait before Judge Dredd debuts. Still, we shouldn't despair. In fact, it sounds like the folks at Rebellion intend to do the show as well as possible, whether that takes more or less than a couple of years. Considering that fans of of the two Judge Dredd movies have been waiting years to see the man back in action, producers will undoubtedly not want to rush their way through development and deliver something disappointing.
Luckily, Jason Kingsley also has some good news about Judge Dredd: Mega-City One. He went on in his chat with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar) to tease this about the stories that are to come:
Dark fantasy elements are one area that would be great to explore. The show will combine the macabre with the insane and the light-hearted. It's a big place, after all, with 400 million stories to tell.
No wonder the show is still a couple of years off! Combining macabre elements with insane plot twists and light-hearted fun can't possibly be easy. Fantasy should give producers the room to explore pretty much anything. The Judge Dredd character from the comics was a street judge working in a dystopian future; assuming the show follows at least the setting of the comics, not a whole lot of realism will be required. Viewers will just need to suspend their disbelief and go along for what will likely be quite a wild ride.
A big question -- and one that likely won't be answered for a while -- is who will play Judge Dredd himself. Karl Urban played the character in the 2012 film Dredd, and he has expressed interest in reprising the role for either a sequel or a series. As we don't yet know if Judge Dredd: Mega-City One will be a sequel to Dredd or a fresh take on the premise, it's hard to guess if Urban will be approached for the role. We'll have to wait and see.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in comic TV news, and be sure to swing by our summer TV premiere schedule for a look at your current primetime options, as well as our 2017 Netflix schedule to see what you can stream.
