Today, September 18th, Is A Dredd Day Of Action
This article is more than 2 years old
Last year, Dredd came and left theaters without anyone taking notice of its awesome sci-fi existence. Since then, the film has managed to impress and entertain new audiences on Blu-ray/DVD and on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. If you haven’t watched Dredd yet, we highly recommend you check it out and enjoy the amazingness of Karl Urban as The Law.
Many fans want Lionsgate to green light a sequel film, though the studio is reluctant to do so considering the disappointing $35.6 million worldwide box office take. Dredd’s production budget stood at a modest, but hefty, $50 million, so it’s easy to see why Lionsgate wouldn’t want to make a follow up. With today’s online landscape, fans can change occasionally the minds of studio heads with action in the form of petitions and viral marketing campaigns.
Campaign organizers have received more than 80,000 online signatures and are putting together A Dredd Day of Action today, September 18. Promoters are urging fans to buy an extra Blu-ray/DVD of the film, rent or buy Dredd on iTunes, or watch the movie streaming on Netflix Instant. The point of the day of action is to show Lionsgate, once and for all, that people want a Dredd sequel to continue the adventures of Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) in Mega-City One.
Meanwhile, comic book publishers Rebellion Developments are releasing Dredd: Underbelly as a sequel to the film. Arthur Wyatt wrote the continuation of the story, and the action finds Dredd and Anderson still fighting the good fight against a tidal wave of crime that threatens the dystopian megalopolis. Henry Flint created the art for issue 340, which coincidently will be release in print and digitally today, September 18. Funny coincidence, isn’t it?
Dredd himself, Karl Urban, is excited to see that fans are willing to stay with the character and demand more. While fans have their own ideas about the direction of a possible sequel, Urban thinks the story should be simple, with a smaller budget. He’s also thrilled to see so many people find the movie after its theatrical release. He said, “Unfortunately, a fundamental problem with Dredd was that at the time of its release people didn’t know about it. There was no awareness of it, and ultimately that hurt the performance of the movie at the cinema.”
As much as I would love to see another Dredd movie, the film we have now is so close to perfect. It has the ideal tone, balances dry comedy with ultraviolence, and has wonderful performances from Urban, Thirlby, and Lena Headey. Dredd is a surreal, candy-coated adventure with themes of crime and punishment, and second chances… with slo-mo. Since it was released on Netflix, I’ve watched Dredd eight or nine times already. It’s become like coffee, sometimes it’s the first thing I queue up to get my day started.
If you like to watch a Dredd sequel, then sign the online petition and participate in the Dredd Day of Action. Firefly and Veronica Mars both got fan-generated movies, why can’t Dredd?
Skip to 4:20 for Dredd.
