Alex Garland and Judge Dredd have officially gone their separate ways. Not that we can say we’re particularly surprised, mind you.
The filmmaker, best known for his work on top-tier sci-fi movies in the vein of Ex Machina and Annihilation, reportedly worked extensively on the 2012 Dredd, yet received no credit for his endeavor. Instead, it was Pete Travis’ name on the masthead, and subsequent reports have indicated that Travis was ostensibly “prohibited” from participating in the editing process due to creative disagreements.
What followed was an “unorthodox collaboration” between Travis and Garland leading up to release, but despite his significant contribution, Garland was essentially robbed of a co-director credit. So, you can’t blame the filmmaker when he says that he currently has no intention of ever returning to the Dredd franchise. Not now, and perhaps not ever.
No. It was a pretty crude experience, for a bunch of reasons. At the end of it, I didn’t want to go back. I love Dredd, by which I mean I love the character, but I’m not in any hurry to do that again.
That’s not to say that the Dredd series won’t continue in some shape or form. IM Global and Rebellion Productions are still toiling away on Mega-City One, itself designed as a prequel to the Karl Urban Dredd movie – the same one that caused such a strife between Alex Garland and the producers.
Last we heard, Urban himself was being tipped for a cameo role, though any sign of tangible momentum has since flickered out of existence. There’s still hope, of course, but we’ll be waiting a long, long time before Dredd – Judge, Jury, and Executioner – stages a comeback. And longer still before Alex Garland ever decides to return to the series.
