Judgment is coming, and its name is Judge Dredd.
The character has been around in popular culture since 1977, but in the upcoming 3D movie "Dredd," he seems to be as relevant as ever. A new featurette for the film discusses how the character manages to examine our culture as much now as it did 35 years ago.
"Dredd is the ultimate lawman," Karl Urban explained in the video. "He is judge, jury and executioner."
"Judge Dredd" creator John Wagner added, "He's a good guy and a badass at the same time. It's an interesting combination."
This isn’t the first time that Dredd has been brought to the big screen. "Judge Dredd" was adapted into a film starring Sylvester Stallone in 1995, and is very different from what director Pete Travis and writer Alex Garland created. The story of this film centers as much around its title character as it does on Mega City One.
"As much as the stories were about Judge Dredd, they were really about what it is like to live in this world," Urban said of the comic books. "I think that in this film that Alex Garland has done a really nice job of showcasing those people."
The featurette also delves into much of "Judge Dredd's" comic book history, from the historical context of its creation to why it still works in today's world. Wagner opened up about how he first came up with the idea for the character and why he stuck.
"I had been editor of other comics and had created for one of them a sort of 'Dirty Harry' take off called 'One-Eyed Jack.' And so when Pat Mills was putting together '2000 AD,' I said to him one thing you don't have is a tough cop," Warnger explained. I went away and wrote the story using the name Judge Dredd. He was so stand out. Once you saw him, you couldn't forget Judge Dredd."
"Dredd" hits theaters on September 21.
Do you plan on checking out "Dredd"? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!
