During a Q&A session on the 2000AD Online forum (via
Bleeding Cool), screenwriter Alex Garland discusses the possibility of a
Dredd trilogy. Previously, he stated that a sequel may happen if the film grosses $50 million domestically, and had outlined his plans for a potential trilogy. But the following comments from Garland suggest that his plans for such a trilogy may not happen. At the end of the chat, Garland reveals that he's interested in seeing a
Dredd television series, saying that it's
"maybe the best way to move forward".
"If I was involved in a second movie, it would be about origins and subversion, and Chopper would feature. In fact, I think Chopper would start and end the story. Apart from him, my rough plan involves Fargo, Giant, Angel Gang, and a version of Satanus. For a trilogy, add Cal and the Dark Judges. And Anderson would be in all three. But… just to be clear, this is hugely speculative and also unlikely, for any number of reasons… There are some variables which would rule me out [of any sequel] immediately.
"I think I’d try to make [the Dark Judges] really scary," says Garland.
"Not play them for laughs. Just make them totally malevolent and lethal. And use practical effects where possible, except for Fire, which would be an on-set nightmare. The existential side to the Dark Judges is that they don’t see a point to life. If my film-trilogy daydream was to play out, I would completely rewrite my original script for the Dark Judges – because it was junk – and start again. If there is a sequel, I’m imagining spending about half the movie in the Cursed Earth, and I would try to come up with some new faces as well as some old ones… I quite like the idea of Satanus. But much more mutated."
"But by the way, just so it has been said, I actually think that maybe the best way forward for ‘Dredd’ is television," Garland revealed.
"American TV has completely rewritten the rule book where filmed drama is concerned. ‘Game Of Thrones’/’The Wire’/’Breaking Bad’… An equivalent version of Dredd would be [frick]ing great."
Do you want to see a
Judge Dredd television series? You can see
Dredd in his next big screen outing on September 21st.