Dredd is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. Karl Urban stars as Judge Dredd, a law enforcer given the power of judge, jury and executioner in a vast, dystopic metropolis called Mega-City One that lies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Dredd and his rookie partner, Judge Anderson, are forced to bring order to a 200-storey high-rise block of apartments and deal with its resident drug lord, Ma-Ma.
Theatrical release poster
Olivia Thirlby promoting Dredd at the 2012 Fantastic Fest
Final art of the city by VFX art director Neil Miller, with Peach Trees on the left. To highlight the scale of Mega-City One, the "micro-city state"–like towers were gradually positioned farther apart to emphasise their size and allow a more detailed city to emerge between them.
Karl Urban promoting the film at the 2012 Fantastic Fest. Critics praised his performance.
Alexander Medawar Garland is an English author, screenwriter, and director. He rose to prominence with his novel The Beach (1996). He subsequently received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films 28 Days Later (2002) and Sunshine (2007), as well as Never Let Me Go (2010) and Dredd (2012). In video games, he co-wrote Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010) and served as a story supervisor on DmC: Devil May Cry (2013).
Garland in 2024