Karl Urban Wants To Return As Judge Dredd Franchise Series "In A Heartbeat" As Underrated Movie Remains Cult Classic 14 Years Later

Karl Urban just teased a possible return to one of his superhuman characters.

Urban recently starred alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the new Amazon Prime film The Bluff — a thrilling pirate adventure flick featuring a strong female lead and epic sword fights. Urban and Jonas spoke to The Playlist about their time on set and what's next for the actors. That's when Urban revealed the role he would most like to revisit.

In 2012, he portrayed Judge Dredd in the film Dredd. His character doesn't have any superhero abilities, but he is an excellent marksman, a superior fighter in all forms of combat, and is a peak human being. He enforces the law in the fictional town of Mega-City One, which is overrun with criminals.

I would love to reprise that role in a heartbeat. I really would. I had so much fun making that movie.” He added, “If I’m not part of it, then I’m all good with it. I just want to see more Dredd stories.

Dredd, the rated-R action and sci-fi film, still sits at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. He appeared alongside Olivia Thirlby and Game of Thrones star Lena Headey. Before Urban took the role, Sylvester Stallone appeared as the hero in 1995's Judge Dredd.

In July 2025, it was confirmed that Taika Waititi was chosen to direct a new Judge Dredd film that will be written by Drew Pearce, known for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. Not much is known about the movie, but it will be based more on the comic books than the previous live-action interpretations.

Waititi has been known for taking comic book stories and making them jump off the silver screen. He not only directed both Marvel films Thor: Ragnarök and Thor: Love and Thunder, but he also directed and appeared in the film What We Do in the Shadows, and a WWII satire, Jojo Rabbit.

He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media — both for Jojo Rabbit. His success in previous projects should give viewers hope that his Judge Dredd project will do the character and comics justice, whether Urban returns as the character or not.

Urban and Jonas' film The Bluff can be streamed now on Amazon Prime. He can also be seen in the Prime Video series The Boys, which will air its final season in the spring.