Alex Garland’s ‘Dredd’ Is Finally Getting The Love It Deserves!

13 years after it premiered, Alex Garland’s Dredd movie is finally getting the love it deserves. Now it’s time for a sequel or two, please!

Dredd (2012) is one of the most criminally underrated comic book movies of all time. Helmed by Pete Travis (Civil War) and written by Alex Garland (28 Days Later), the movie bombed heavily at the box office, taking a reported $41.5 million from a $30-$45 million budget. Even so, Dredd remains a cult film for geeks. It actually received pretty decent reviews at the time; the viewership numbers were simply below par. Plenty of blame can be put on its lame marketing, too.

It was actually the second Dredd movie to hit screens. The first released in 1995 with Sylvester Stallone in the main role, but that adaptation was just plain bad.

All in all, the 2012 Dredd movie was probably ahead of its time. If it came out today, I’m convinced it’d be a big hit — and thanks to its recent streaming performance, my viewpoint is vindicated.

Dredd takes place in Mega-City One, a huge, crime-ridden city in a dystopian future. There, crime is policed by Judges, who are assigned the role of judge, jury and executioner. And the most feared Judge of all is Dredd. The movie is based on the beloved comics by 2000 AD, and remains ardently faithful to its source material. It’s brutal, gritty and extremely violent.

Dredd boasted an all-star cast, with Karl Urban in the titular role. It also starred Game of Thrones alum Lena Headey and Domhnall Gleeson. Check out the trailer:

Dredd breaks into streaming charts at Max!

For fans of the movie, it’ll be pleasing to see it performing extremely well on Max. In the streamer’s Top 10 charts, released February 3, 2025, Dredd came in at #8. Not a bad feat for a 13-year-old movie.

Sadly, Dredd never got the sequel it deserved. Although star Karl Urban has continually expressed a desire to reprise the role. “You know, I would love to make another one,” he said, per Dexerto. “I’ve gone on the record for years saying I’m definitely down to do it.”

Seeing Dredd rank so highly on Max offers a faint hope that the franchise gets picked up for a sequel movie, or even perhaps a show. But really, a distant hope is all it is. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see it return. We can continue rhapsodising about the original movie though. It can’t do any harm.