It’s been more than two years since the release of director Pete Travis‘s Dredd 3D scored as a major hit among critics while failing commercially at the box office at large. Accordingly, fans who loved the film compared to its 1998 predecessor have been pouring in droves online to celebrate the film’s achievement in delivering a quality feature film adaptation while pressing hard for a sequel in some capacity, and as it stands, that goal has been slow to take, at best.
For those not in the know, the 2012 film was written by Alex Garland and produced by Adi Shankar and starred Karl Urban and actresses Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey in the gritty story of a seasoned government lawman assigned to assess a rookie with psychic powers on the streets of Mega City One, only to find themselves trapped in one of the city’s most dangerous Mega City blocks when its notorious crime lord, Ma-Ma, usurps herself and seizes control. To our delight, what ensues is an R-rated, explosive contained character-driven action adventure epic littered with bullets, blood, brutality and a whole lotta dead bodies, coupled with conspiracy, intrigue and corruption to boot, and for an independently-produced feature, it’s the best thing to ever be shot on film for the comic book character its based on.
Sadly, the film evidently suffered at the box office and a sequel was deemed off limits even as home sales soared. Nowadays, a major online movement is happening just two long years in to help bring a sequel to life. Only thing is that in order to see our way to such prospects, you have to be attentive to the facts at hand, and as often as the facts are presented, people are ten times more likely to blow the facts off. And that’s the internet for you – most peoples’ attention spans are pretty equivalent to that of an kitten suffering from ADD while high on cat-nip and surrounded by random shiny objects (let that image sink in for a moment…).
The overall inner-workings of today’s film industry are as difficult as they are complicated, especially when it comes to independent films which suffer greatly when they’re not supported properly. Dredd 3D is no exception to the rule, as an independent film that’s been sorely mistaken time again by the unknowing as a big budget Hollywood feature that wouldn’t suffer and would get a sequel no matter what. Fans found that out the hard way, and curiousity among those in the community still eager to see Urban return to take his brand of justice from Mega City One into the cursed Earth still have questions that need answering.
Of course, this isn’t solely limited to the fanbase, as a cult movement like this can use all the support it can get. But to understand it a little more, folks need to know the facts. Alas, fresh off the controversial hype of his Joseph Kahn-directed Power/Rangers one-shot is Shankar himself to educate the public on what it will take to make for a sequel to Dredd 3D to be financed and made. It’s probably the most informative video you’ll ever see if you’ve been wanting a sequel for as long as the fanbase has, and worth every minute as a much needed tutorial for netizens who think they know everything.
