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FIRST LOOK

First Look: Karl Urban Suited Up as the Law in New 'Judge Dredd'

by Ethan Anderton
November 19, 2010

We already know that a new iteration of Judge Dredd is on the way with Karl Urban putting on the helmet to deliver justice (and we've heard he won't be taking it off either). Now we have our first look at the actor completely suited up for the futuristic comic book adaptation snapped during rehearsals for the Pete Travis (Vantage Point) directed film. The picture isn't perfect, but we can see this doesn't have the same polished, plastic look from Sylvester Stallone's abysmal adaptation from the 90's, and that's a pretty damn good start. Check out the full picture below with the official synopsis for Dredd, which is apparently the title for this new take on the character.

Here's our first look at Karl Urban in Dredd thanks to 2000 AD Online (via Coming Soon):

Dredd takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot – if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Peter Travis bring Dredd to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip. Thoughts?

Filed under First Look, Hype, Opinions, Photos

From around the web:

Simon

Looks pretty weak.
http://www.thenameless.org Mike McRorey

saw the original and I loved it. I have never been a fan of the big helmet though.
ces

I AM.....THE LAWL! sly dredd was awesome love that movie
Chris5g

Aweeeesomeeeee!
DaftPUNKFAN

Why a remake o_0???
harm

its not a remake. its a new movie of the comics. And Urban as Dredd = WIN!
Voice of Reason

Um....aside from THE CHIN, this looks exactly like the 90's Dredd...unsure how you think this looks different? I mean I don't see Rob Schneider anywhere and they had concrete hallways in the previous movie, but this looks very familiar, and why shouldnt it? The story in Stallone's Dredd sucked but it mirrored the look of the comic, which is exactly what this movie should do it—which it seems to be doing—if wants to tap into Dredd's fanbase.
Lagoya

Helmet looks silly, Stallone's suit and helmet looked much better.
no

how can you guys judge this movie just by this one photo? lol
Xerxex

sweet.
Ari

ya idk about this movie but I have to say that Karl Urbans a great choice, although cronicles of riddick wasn't very good he seemed like he could take that kind of futuristic bad ass role- n this might be it for him. Be that as it may- id rather see a demolition man remake or sequel cause that was way cooler than judge dredd, better plot and vilans to be had.
DRM

Hey, I liked the Stallone version.
LetterJ13

Seriously .... what's next? Are they gonna remake The Expendables?
Cody w

Karl Urban's kick-ass, only reason id see this is cause of him.
Jimmy Love

If they haven't started production yet than what Urban is wearing wont be in the film, its a preliminary test so that they can work out how to make it look and feel better.
Fox

"In the future... the helmet wears you!"
Ross

I know it's based on a comic but the badge looks a bit comicy Body armour a bit flakey too but I like urban, hopefully theyll do a good job
Josef

if you think this looks silly then you think the old one looked silly which means you shouldnt be commenting. it looks exactly the same. if it was a revamp and they made look brand new and mdern there would be complaints about it. it looks fine.
RobL

You think they could make him a suit that fits instead of giving him Stallone old one
http://twitter.com/gimmesumsuga Mathieu

Glad I'm not the only one who actually liked the 1990s version - great production design, music and cinematography, and most of the performances (apart from Schneider) were good too. Stallone's outfit was actually more faithful to the comic than this shot is...
Cracky

Trust me: It will not matter if he looks similar. Honestly, Sly had the look, Urban has the look... fuck the look, it's obviously not that hard. (And the helmet looks fine) This will be a bloody, R-rated Judge Dredd. And I'm pretty damn excited.
eurogibbon

I give up. What is the point? Nobody outside the UK will watch this. Nobody inside the UK under 30 will watch this. It needs to be satirical, ultra-violent and a kind of foreign view of America. In other words, A Paul Verhoeven film. Don't need a big name as Dredd, Ron Perlman would be happy to stay under a mask as long as it is his show. I'm not convinced the producers of this or the Stallone version know what the material is about or who their audience is. I'm not holding my breath for a successful adaptation.
tir na nog

I'll wait for a teaser,lot of talent on board so Dredd will work at least on some leval's.
Conrad

#9 Agreed! Thank you!!
rt

Nobody beats SLY.
crangy

shhhhwiiiing!!!!!!!!!!!!! awesome!!!!!!! urban vs sly...... 50/50 at this point ,dredd wise lol ABC will swing at the mo (TO THE ORIGnl DREDD)haha
Joseph

I'll withhold my final opinion for now... Maybe it's just the camera angle, but considering what kind of character Judge Dredd is, the shot of Karl Urban in costume doesn't look nearly intimidating enough. I'd be more intimidated by the fact a Lawgiver is pointed at my nose. Photo by itself, unimpressive...on Urban, the helmet looks oversized...and the flak jacket look just comes across as generic post apocalyptic gear. I'm in agreement with a number of posts thus far...Stallone edition FTW! XD
Jeep-Fu

It's a little too dark to really see any detail. Honestly the helmet looks way too big on his head. But I think I will see this in theater as I'd love to see another shot and Dredd.
Movieman

For Heaven's Sake Get Your 1st Photo Right, 1st Impressions Count. His Helmet Looks Far Too Big For His Head, The Next Photo By Mistake Will Show Karl Urban Showing His Face After His Helmet Has Fallen Off His Head. Not Off To A Good Start As Far As I Am Concerned.
...........

I Won't Condemn The Entire Movie Off Of This One Photo But I Will Say That The Original Film Attempted To Be Visually Stunning With The Gold Vest, The Reflective Visors, And The Hover cycles. This Seems To Be Alot More Down Played Which May Speak To The Tone Of The Film. I'm Still Very Optimistic. It May Be A Case of What Batman Returns Was To Dark Knight, Just A Re-imagining, Not Necessarily An Extremely Better Or Worse Film.
Robbie

I can't wait to see a trailer.
carl

Stallone looked better as Dredd it's just a bloody shame he spent most of the film without the uniform and helmet.
daiteechu

That helmet is just ridiculous! lol. Stallone looked better as Dredd.
Django3000

They seem to be going for the look that the majority of Wagner & Ezquerra's comics had, which gave him a helmet of almost those exact dimensions. http://www.idrawdigital.com/2009/12/character-spotlight-judge-dredd/ I'd personally rather have a Bolland-looking Dredd, like they did in Judge Minty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2JhQXCjTLY Hell. Just hire the whole FX dept. of Judge Minty, fer chrissakes. They made Mega-City one REAL. At any rate, I still have pretty high hopes for this, mainly b/c of the actor beneath the mask. Also, this isn't a particularly well lit shot, so we can't really tell anything yet.
Django3000

But I WOULD rather see some larger shoulder pads & Eagle shoulder action.
Cruzer

Hahahahaha looks stupid if you ask me.
http://redshoulder.deviantart.com/gallery/ Marc McKenzie

@Voice of Reason: Solid points, but don't forget--for the movie to be successful it has to go _beyond_ the Dredd fanbase @Cruzer: Then I guess I won't ask you.... Besides, folks...it's just one freakin' image. That's it! Can't we wait for more images, a trailer, and then the actual finished, final film before passing judgement? Just sayin'...
http://www.cgfolio.co.uk RUSE

Why don't they update the costume - it looks so 80's!!
Rob

An earlier poster said it - RON PERLMAN as Dredd. It would have been perfect. The Chin Man! The Chin! Now we got a weak-ass Karl Urban as Dredd? What's the point? Dredd's supposed to be a ultra badass take-no-prisoners cop/biker/merc/vigilante/onemanarmy. Urban is a pretty boy. Who looks at this and think - WOW BADASS. I don't see how anyone can be excited by this pic. He looks like a 12 year old paying dress up. Hope the movie's good for Dredd's sake but the costume and Urban look like weak links. ReBOOT! AGAIN! Stallone at least LOOKED the part. And I think that version will make this one look like GAMER.
I AM THE JAW

It's pretty poor. Sure, the basic design is there but it's done in a confused way. Notice the 2000AD Dredd helmet (if a tad big) then the feeble looking shoulder pads and then the Stallone type badge. Just a mishmash of three different styles. I can't imagine much thought went into this design other than a desire to make it look semi-realistic. I find it a bit sad when people try to change things and they look worse than the original version. Doesn't fill me with any confidence the people know what they're doing. Also, the film is called 'Dredd' when the character is actually called Judge Dredd. I find this sort of change dumb and a tad disrespectful. A title like JUDGE DREDD: I AM THE LAW would be much better and respectful.
Tom Dearsley

I still think that Tom Jane would have been perfect for the role, guess we'll just wait for him to play the title character in Christopher Lamberts autobiography some day instead...
The Average Joe

Seeing Karl Urban as Judge Dredd and the design of the cycle, I can't help but think the contracts on this movie went to the lowest bidders.
Duchess of Cambridge

Karl Urban must say the following lines in Dredd: “I am the law!” “I knew you’d say that.” (in five scenes) “I knew they’d do that.” “Full auto. Rapid-fire.” “Armour piercing” “Double whammy.” “Signal flare!” I look forward to seeing the following villains in future sequels: Angel Gang, Mean Machine Angel, President Booth, Oola Blint, Judge Cal, Dark Judges, Judge Death, Rico Dredd, Armon Gill, Judge Grice, Morton Judd, Kleggs, Judge Kraken, Stan Lee, PJ Maybe, Nero Narcos, Sov Judge Orlok, Shojun the Warlord, Judge Sinfield I hope in this film series, they will include the following Judges: Beeny, Buell, Galen DeMarco, Dirty Frank, Edgar, Fargo, Francisco, Giant, Goodman, Griffin, Hershey, Janus, Karyn, McGruder, Mechanismo, Niles, Rico, Shenker, Silver, Solomon, Volt I hope in this film series, they will include: Chopper, Vienna Dredd, Fergee, Yassa Povey, Jacob Sardini, Otto Sump, Walter the Wobot I hope one of the following recognisable actors with comedic experience plays Fergee: Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan, Jeremy Piven, Paul Rudd As Judge Dredd, Karl Urban should be a hardcore badass like Liam Neeson in Taken.