Amazon Prime Video may be developing a Dredd TV series starring Karl Urban as the iconic lawman, according to industry rumors circulating online. While unconfirmed by Amazon, sources suggest early discussions are underway with the production team behind The Boys—a hit superhero series for the streamer—to revive the cult-favorite character.
Urban first portrayed Judge Dredd in the 2012 film Dredd, a gritty adaptation of the 2000 AD comic series that gained a devoted fanbase despite underperforming at the box office. The actor, now a staple of Amazon’s The Boys as Billy Butcher, has long expressed interest in revisiting the role. “Karl Urban is a massive Judge Dredd fan,” said Jamie Rixom recently on his podcast Tachyon Pulse. “He’s been pushing for a project that stays true to the comics, and Amazon sees potential here, especially as The Boys wraps up”.
Our Review: Why ‘Dredd’ is One of the Decade’s Great Films
Previous efforts to expand the Dredd universe stalled, including a proposed Judge Dredd: Mega-City One TV series announced in 2017. The new rumors suggest Amazon’s version would explore deeper lore from the comics, such as apocalyptic storylines and side characters like Judge Death, which the original film couldn’t tackle due to budget constraints. “A TV series over 10 episodes or multiple seasons would allow time to properly develop these ideas,” Rixom added.
If greenlit, the series would reportedly mirror the violent, satirical edge of The Boys. “It has to be violent. It has to be aggressive and that is The Boys, but also you want to inject some humor into it,” Rixom noted. The show could also tackle modern societal divides, using Mega-City One’s dystopian setting to reflect real-world issues, but because politics “ in America is very focused and it’s very divided. I just think a TV series like this really could explore those things and the problems that we have in our society at the moment.”
There has been no announcement, so no script or formal commitment yet. However, Urban’s clout at Amazon—where The Boys remains a flagship title—could accelerate development. The team behind The Boys knows how to balance shock value with storytelling, and paired that with Urban’s passion for the role could mean they may finally do Dredd justice. There is some concern however, that it might get too political, and in a one-sided fashion. The comics has certainly done it, and it became clear over the last few seasons that the showrunners for The Boys were afflicted with a major case of “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Fans of the 2012 film have rallied online, calling the potential series “long overdue.” One Reddit user remarked, “Urban is Dredd. Let him keep the helmet on and give him a worthy story.”
Again, Amazon has yet to comment on the rumors, so for now, Dredd remains available to stream on Max in the U.S., though its imminent removal from Prime Video in the UK earlier this month sparked renewed interest in the franchise.
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English (US) · 