Once upon a time Alex Garland was the respected author of The Beach, but more recently he’s gone screenplay crazy, scripting Danny Boyle projects like Sunshine and 28 Days Later, and now it’s being reported he’s going even more mainstream, by taking on a big screen reboot of Judge Dredd.
The news comes from comic book artist Jock’s Twitter feed, where he says, “working through script visuals for JUDGE DREDD movie. Alex Garland writes a great script.” Although it’s not the most in-depth update, it certainly suggests Garland has got his hands on the project.
With a new Dredd film being in the works for ages, Garland is probably only one of several writers who’s had a hand in the scripting process, although it does suggest that if Jock is working on visuals, the studio is pretty pleased with the screenplay they’ve got. It’s certainly good news, as the be-masked Judge is a tough character to adapt, as shown by the exceedingly dodgy 1995 movie starring Sylverster Stallone and Sandra Bullock. Although the new film still has a long way to go before it officially gets the greenlight, let’s hope that this time around they respect the 2000AD character and deliver the no-compromise carnage that could make Judge Dredd a truly fantastic film, and Garland is certainly a writer who could deliver that.