Judge Dredd: Mega-City One - TV show announced!

[JOE SOAP]

What, buying a hundred million pound complex to convert into a film studio isn't a sign?

Exciting isnt it!!! I think when this was announced a lot of people (myself included) assumed Rebellion had pitched this to a service and it was just going to get made and funded by Netflix or whoever very soon. Turns out they're doing it absolutely all themselves down to owning the very studio it is filmed in, so it may take a while yet! It should be incredibly faithful to the comics as a result. I wonder if it was pitched first, and then the feedback about what would need changing was what spurred them on to go full DIY.

As far as we know from announcements and interviews the plan was always to make the series themselves locally, but like most big-budget productions they needed a Bags O'Money investor like Netflix or Amazon to fund/distribute it for them, and still do.

The studio was an adjunct to that idea: there's a shortage of available studio space with large studios and streaming services block-booking all major facilities, and that owning such a facility meant it could be rented-out to other productions while trying to develop in-house productions. If investment for a JD TV series is ever found they'd then have somewhere local to shoot it.

[Gary James]

It should be incredibly faithful to the comics as a result.

If they've any sense they should be utterly faithful to the core aim of making great TV, and worry about the true-to-the-comic side later. We-the-true-fans are all going to give out shite about it no matter what.

A fresh start in a new medium means that there will undoubtedly be alterations from the printed page, but that isn't a bad thing. There are a lot of things that the comics does well which wouldn't work at all on the screen. Keep in mind that the complex continuity built up over the years is unlikely to be in place, as that's only going to confuse matters for an audience unfamiliar with the characters - there's robots, psychics, aliens, mutants, the undercity... Hell, the Judge system itself is going to have to be thoroughly explained if casual viewers are to have any chance of following events. I'm expecting changes.

[sheridan]

If they've any sense they should be utterly faithful to the core aim of making great TV, and worry about the true-to-the-comic side later. We-the-true-fans are all going to give out shite about it no matter what.

A fresh start in a new medium means that there will undoubtedly be alterations from the printed page, but that isn't a bad thing. There are a lot of things that the comics does well which wouldn't work at all on the screen.

Too true - it could be argued that the uniform from the 1995 film was more faithful to the comic uniform than that in the 2012 film - and we know how that turned out - and yet the more recent film seems more faithful to the character of the comic.

[GrudgeJohnDeed]

I hope a Dredd show that's both good and faithful to its world is possible! You can do it Rebellion!!!!

[Robin Low]

Too true - it could be argued that the uniform from the 1995 film was more faithful to the comic uniform than that in the 2012 film - and we know how that turned out - and yet the more recent film seems more faithful to the character of the comic.

Indeed, but can we not have both? True to the character and the costume. Sure, the Stallone costume is not wholly realistic, but it's closer to a costume that's a defining part of the character, and part of where that film went wrong was ditching it for a vest and Stallone's face. You can always argue that body-hugging fabric is made of flexible plas-steel fibres, and while not bullet or las-proof, it's stab-resistant, fireproof and so on - it is the future after all and material technologies are quietly advancing even in the here-an-now.

The heavily armoured movie Batman is probably more credible, but at the same time, a great lumbering tank of a man doesn't really fit with the image of a creature silently stalking the shadows of the underworld (and I say that as someone who loved the Ben Aflleck Batman and the warehouse fight).

Regards,

Robin

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'd take the Karl Urban uniform every time, without hesitation.  Up until that film I'd been of the opinion that the bigger the eagle and pads, the more iconic the Dredd (Jock's version being a particular high point for me) but the 2012 movie version was nothing like that and still looked amazing; and was probably the only way a Dredd-like costume could work for a real street cop.

The Stallone one just looked weird; all spandex and polished gold.

[Gary James]

The Stallone one just looked weird; all spandex and polished gold.

I thought the correct term used in reference to that film was "polished turd."

Actually, I'm not concerned about the uniforms as much as I am interested in seeing how the look of Mega City One can retain some of the glorious shapes - there's a few ways that can go, and there are definitely possibilities open which make some sense of the architecture. As long as it doesn't end up looking like the (rather depressing) cityscape seen in the 2012 film, as that didn't strike me as having enough character.

[The Legendary Shark]

In retrospect, it seems to me that Judge Dredd could be subtitled 'The Decline and Fall of Mega City One,' so I just hope they start with the Big Meg at its 800,000,000 population mark peak and then gradually whittle it down.

[Mardroid]

I think Judge Minty proved that you can have a uniform faithful to the comic look good in live action... and there was no Spandex in sight. Well on the judges, there might have been some on citizens in the video feed part.

The movie Dredd uniform didn't look bad but I've no issue with thinking they could have had the same level of protection in a thinner fabric in the future.

As for the look of the city, I'd love something like the comics. I did feel like the movie blocks worked very well, in a different way however. Each block felt very much an island to itself, creating a strong sense of segregation, isolation and loneliness in what is supposed to be  an overcrowded city... which seems apt somehow.

But I hope we see various styles of block including the domed and phallic look of the comics

[ABCwarBOT]

Hey everyone here's an update.......but er.....still not happening.....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3D-LlIWug


I think it's fair to say it's dead in the water.

[sheridan]

Meanwhile, I think it's fair to stick to the real world, rather than click-bait youtubers.

Rebellion Studios now open and ready for business.

Rebellion Careers (as of writing, at least 9 jobs directly related to TV and film, plus a few others which could be tangentially related).

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Ah, well it's all on the back burner for the moment. I think Karl Urban's success in the Boys inevitably led to less interest in the Dredd property, and with the main actor for the role out of the picture, it's more challenging to attract investment for the project. They'll be concentrating on Duncan Jones Rogue Trooper Film, so we have that to look forward too [hopefully!]

[Keef Monkey]

Hey everyone here's an update.......but er.....still not happening.....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3D-LlIWug


I think it's fair to say it's dead in the water.

I'm not sure what people expected to happen when it was announced this was being developed, many seem to have assumed that meant they'd have a Dredd series on their telly a year later. That's not how these things work. As someone who works on entertainment media which takes years and years and years to develop before there's anything to tell or show the public, I really don't expect you'll hear anything else until it's much, much further along. Everything in the meantime is just speculation for clickbait.

[IndigoPrime]

I'm not watching a 12-minute video, but I scanned some salient bits and:

1. The news piece he has on the screen is full of old quotes.
2. He talks about it being a "real shame" and that everything is "full of bluster".

On the first point, people are just regurgitating the same few quotes, which are:

• Urban will return to Dredd in any form, if asked, and if it's viable
• Dredd 2 isn't going to happen
• Garland does not want to return to Dredd on screen

And him saying nothing's moved from Rebellion showcases a misunderstanding of how television moves (or, more likely, he may understand this but is nonetheless playing for clicks). TV can move quickly, but only when there's a ton of money and sufficient impetus. If some billionaire really wanted Dredd on their telly, they could make it happen. But even then, you're talking a turnaround in the many months. It takes, what, about 18 months to do a series of Doctor Who, which already has the infrastructure in place? So there's your likely minimum ballpark for a ten-episode run when everything is already in place. But most telly – indeed, most movies – spend many years in pre-production.

So all we really know about the Mega-City One show is this: Rebellion want to make it, and Rob Williams has had some involvement. The end. That's it. I'm sure if it gets any further along, the Kingsleys are hardly going to keep quiet about that. But when there's no news, what's the point in just repeating what's already been said? (And, again, no news doesn't mean it's not going to happen.)

[Colin YNWA]

Wow he spends a long time to say he knows nothing, knows no more than anyone else as no real insight and likes to kinda suggest he does and he's due something.