Nothing gets the internet frothing like a perfectly viral rumor.
This time? That Judge Dredd—the helmeted, hard-nosed lawman of dystopian dreams—was storming back onto our screens courtesy of Amazon Prime, with The Boys executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg calling the shots. Karl Urban in the lead. An IP match made in antihero heaven.
But then? Boom. Reality check. Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion (the rights-holders to all things Dredd), nuked the whole thing on Facebook. “Surprised” was the word he used. Surprised he hadn't been contacted to negotiate rights or even exist in the project's supposed creative orbit.
That's like waking up to find out your neighbor sold your car to Netflix.
What Really Happened?
Let's back up.
Back in 2017, Kingsley and company announced Judge Dredd: Mega-City One—a gritty ensemble show set in the crime-choked sprawl of the 22nd century. It had all the right ingredients: a dark, stylized tone; a comic-accurate aesthetic (kneepads and all); and a showrunner's promise to lean into the comics' light-and-dark contrasts.
By 2020, Kingsley revealed development was progressing. There were scripts. There was vision. But then? COVID. Like a Mega-City One riot, everything halted. Logistics melted. Funding shifted. All forward motion—paused.
So when rumors recently flared up on social media that Prime Video was back in the game, with Urban and the The Boys creative team on board? It sounded almost plausible. After all, The Boys is wrapping after Season 5. Amazon is deep in the IP acquisition game. And Urban is already on their payroll. A convenient puzzle. But none of the pieces fit.
Kingsley: “It isn't true.”
That's not “we're not ready to announce.” That's hard stop.
Why Do These Rumors Keep Happening?
Because Judge Dredd is the cult icon that never quite got his due.
Sylvester Stallone's 1995 version? A campy misfire. The 2012 Dredd reboot? Critically praised, now a cult classic, but box office poisoned its chances for a sequel. So fans—especially in the post-The Boys, post-Peacemaker, post-Invincible world—want the ultra-violent, morally grey, hyper-political Dredd universe to thrive in prestige television.
And here's the kicker: it could.
The groundwork's there. The scripts exist. Karl Urban has publicly said he's ready to return. He practically begged for it in a 2020 interview: “There is just a plethora of great, great stories… If I get the opportunity to work with those guys, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be there.”
It's not lack of interest. It's lack of alignment—timing, money, logistics, rights. The same obstacles that stalled Mega-City One before still lurk in the background.
Pattern Recognition: Dredd Isn't Alone
Remember when Constantine was going to get a reboot with Keanu Reeves? Or when we were promised a Dark Universe of Universal Monsters starting with The Mummy? Hollywood is littered with the ghosts of IP revivals that never made it past the pitch deck.
But the Dredd situation is different in one key way: it's not stuck in creative limbo. It's stuck in legal and logistical purgatory. The actual rights-holders have a vision—they just haven't found the right partner (or the right climate) to execute it.
In that sense, this latest rumor wasn't just wrong—it was disrespectful. Like announcing your engagement before anyone's proposed.
Final Verdict?
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Judge Dredd deserves better than rumors.
He deserves funding. A greenlight. A cast announcement from someone who, you know, owns the IP.
Until then, any whisper of a new series should be taken with a grain of irradiated salt. Because fans have waited over a decade for a worthy return—and it's clear Rebellion won't pull the trigger until the pieces line up.
But when they do? Expect the Law to return. And this time, hopefully, he'll stay.
