The new JUDGE DREDD film starring Karl Urban has just begun pre-production in Cape Town, South Africa, making it the first major film to shoot in the newly built Cape Town Studios, a Hollywood-style facility which is the first of its kind in the continent.
The 3D flick is said to cost around $45 million and will continue shooting all the way through March of next year, a lengthy production period indeed. (Although the studio’s doors don’t officially open until October.)
Unfortunately, plot details are still under wraps, but it’s been assured that Urban is playing Dredd with his mask on the entire time, and he’ll no doubt be enforcing his ultra-strict brand of justice on the streets of Mega-City One. It’s also said to be “hard R”, which is music to all of our ears, I’m sure.
Flick is being produced by Andrew Macdonald (28 DAYS LATER, TRAINSPOTTING) and Michael S. Murphy (DISTRICT 9), so it’s got a good pedigree on that front, although I’m less sure about director Pete Travis, whose only really notable credit is the forgettable 2008 film VANTAGE POINT. Still, I’m cautiously optimistic for now.
Sexy Diane Lane co-starred in the lame 1995 version of JUDGE DREDD