Movies
‘Dredd’ Sequel Chatter Gets a Depressing Response From Karl Urban and Adi Shankar
Back in 2012 Lionsgate created revisionist history by erasing the 1995 adaptation of the comic book “Judge Dread” from our brain.
Karl Urban starred as the title character in Dredd, which was originally portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. The movie was awesome, even if it was an alleged rip-off of Gareth Evans’ The Raid (there’s internal debate about this). Hollywood doesn’t work the way we’d like it too – because it’s all about money (it’s a business) – and the remake was a box office disaster (it took in $35 million worldwide on a $50 million budget that doesn’t include marketing costs).
Because of the bomb, the idea of a sequel seems null and void, which is a bummer considering how fun the colorful genre pic was. Still, producer Adi Shankar has openly acknowledged that he’s working to bring Dredd back in one way or another (maybe Netflix?), and even Urban continues to campaign for its return.
The problem is, when these celebrities appear in public space, they say things on a whim without an explanation. This results in their words being twisted into whatever headline a writer wants. Take earlier this week as an example, when Urban told the Denver Comic Con crowd that a Dredd sequel was “…in development.“ People ran with the news, exclaiming that Dredd 2 was finally happening. (I give Jon Barkan huge props for avoiding click-bait and telling it exactly how it is.)
As badly as I want to see Urban return as Judge Dredd, I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be an uphill battle, although the idea of seeing it end up on Netflix feels very real. But not yet, not now, and not anytime soon, unfortunately.
First, Urban took to Twitter to clarify his remarks:
Dredd update : Unfortunately a sequel is no closer to happening , options have been discussed but there is no sequel in " development " .
— Karl Urban (@KarlUrban) June 22, 2016
Then, our buddies at Latino-Review reached out to Shankar, who shared this gut-wrenching response:
“Not true at all, bud … Unfortunately :(“
FUCK. I think we all knew in our heart of hearts it was too good to be true, but I strongly believe that it will happen, eventually. Let’s just give Urban and Shanker some space to get their plan together and “develop” a strategy for how they can bring the Judge back to the big screen or television or whatever…
Just three years after Evil Dead Rise set the box office on fire with a $147 million worldwide haul, Evil Dead Burn was unleashed into theaters this past weekend. Unfortunately, the opening weekend for Evil Dead Burn wasn’t quite as strong as the debut for its predecessor.
Evil Dead Burn debuted in 3,004 theaters across North America and scared up $13.7 million in its domestic debut, about $10 million less than Evil Dead Rise‘s $24.5 million opening.
Worldwide, Evil Dead Burn debuted with $27 million. Given the film’s production budget was somewhere in the ballpark of $20 million, all is certainly not lost for Evil Dead Burn. That said, Warner Bros. and New Line no doubt hoped that Burn would top or at least match the domestic opening of Rise, but instead we’re looking at a case of diminishing franchise returns.
The good news for fans? Next installment Evil Dead Wrath has already wrapped production for expected release in 2028, so there’s no danger of the franchise ending with Evil Dead Burn.
Evil Dead Wrath from director Francis Galluppi (The Last Stop in Yuma County) is currently set for theatrical release on April 7, 2028, though that could change in the coming months.
Will the Evil Dead franchise be taking a break after Evil Dead Wrath? That all depends on how Wrath performs at the box office. But for what it’s worth, the post-credits scene at the end of Evil Dead Burn suggests that the franchise’s creators are hopeful for a bright future ahead.
The critical reception for Evil Dead Burn was a bit less positive than the reception to Evil Dead Rise, with Rise hitting 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and Burn currently sitting at 71%. It’s interesting to note, however, that the “Popcornmeter” on Rotten Tomatoes is a bit higher for Burn than it was for Rise, with Burn‘s currently at 80% and Rise‘s sitting a tad lower at 76%.
The site’s “Popcornmeter” scores are decided by users, rather than verified movie critics.
Which do you prefer? Evil Dead Rise or Evil Dead Burn? Sound off below.
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