The most dangerous thing in Mega-City One might not be Judge Dredd — it’s getting a Taika Waititi movie made.
According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, the Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit director is officially attached to helm a new Judge Dredd feature, a fresh take on the iconic British comic book character. The project, being packaged for sale around town, comes with a script from Drew Pearce (The Fall Guy, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) and a producer lineup that includes the rights-holding Kingsley brothers and Vertigo’s Roy Lee. The word is that the film will pull more from the source material than previous adaptations, aiming to balance hard-hitting satire with blockbuster sci-fi thrills.
But given Waititi’s track record, the big question isn’t what version of Dredd we’ll get. It’s if we’ll get any version at all.
The Taika Waititi Development Graveyard
Waititi’s name has become synonymous with “in development,” to the point where a new project announcement has started to feel like a pop-culture reflex. Before Dredd, there was his long-gestating Akira movie, first announced in 2017, then re-announced in 2019, then delayed indefinitely by Thor: Love and Thunder. There was his Star Wars film, reportedly still happening as of last year — although Kathleen Kennedy herself admitted “Taika’s a slow writer.” There was the Flash Gordon reboot, initially planned as an animated film, then live-action, then mostly forgotten. And yes, he was also supposed to tackle a new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory project for Netflix, which has been MIA since 2021.
All of these were “passion projects,” and yet all of them still float in the purgatory of pre-production, if they’re alive at all. For some filmmakers, this kind of pile-up would signal burnout or studio red tape. For Waititi, it feels more like a creative Rorschach test: he sees something he likes, signs on, and trusts that the details will sort themselves out — eventually.
Dredd: Cool IP, Bad Luck
If this new iteration ever sees daylight, it’ll be the third attempt to bring the helmeted lawman to the screen. The 1995 Judge Dredd movie, starring Sylvester Stallone, was a campy misfire that stripped away the comics’ anti-authoritarian edge. The 2012 version, Dredd, starring Karl Urban and penned by Alex Garland, fared better with critics and fans, but flopped at the box office. Since then, a “Mega-City One” TV series has been in development hell, despite fan campaigns and Urban’s vocal support.
Now, Waititi and Pearce want to build a “Dredd universe,” complete with spinoffs and a tone that leans into the comic’s dark humor. The reported pitch is a satire-heavy sci-fi action movie that “speaks to this moment in culture.” Which is great, assuming it ever makes it past the pitch.
The Real Judgment Day Is Scheduling
One silver lining: Pearce and Waititi are said to be longtime friends, and have apparently been searching for the right project to team up on. That chemistry might help get this one across the finish line. But with Waititi’s current slate — including an adaptation of Jodorowsky’s esoteric The Incal, multiple producing & writing projects, and a potential return to the Marvel sandbox— it’s hard to imagine where Dredd fits in.
If Akira was his “someday,” and Star Wars was his “eventually,” Judge Dredd is shaping up to be his “we’ll see.”
So is this the start of a new sci-fi franchise? Or just another Taika Waititi fever dream? To paraphrase Judge Dredd himself: Development hell? There ought to be a law against it.