Aa new Judge Dredd movie is heading to the big screen, according to the 2000 AD Website.  Rebellion, the top independent video game studio in the U.K. and owner of the rights to Judge Dredd (see “Mongoose Joins Rebellion”), is joining forces with DNA Films, the studio behind such science fiction movies as 28 Weeks Later and Sunshine, to get the next Judge Dredd film to the multiplexes.

According to the report, the new Judge Dredd film will go into production in 2009.  The first Judge Dredd film, which was directed by Danny Cannon and featured Sly Stallone, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, and Max von Sydow, was released in 1995.  While the film earned $113 million worldwide, it was a critical failure and is generally disliked by fans of the Judge Dredd comics because the film failed to “get” the ironic humor behind the Judge's ruthless passion for "justice" that makes the comics so much fun, and because in the film Judge Dredd (Stallone) was constantly shown without his helmet, while in the comics he only very rarely ever removes his headgear.

If the film gets made, there is a lot of Judge Dredd merchandise available (particularly in the U.K.).  In addition to the Judge Dredd comics and graphic novel collections, Mongoose is prepping new Judge Dredd RPG and Miniatures Games (see “New Judge Dredd RPG & Miniature Games”).