Updated: Karl Urban Confirms That He’s Been Offered The Role Of Judge Dredd

The Hollywood star-making machine can act like a runaway train sometimes. It’s why, years after their respective flops, people like Jude Law and Ben Affleck are still being treated like headliners. There are very few stars out there, and, surprisingly, a limited amount of potential stars Hollywood feels the need to try out as understudies. Which is why we’re back again with Karl Urban, who tried the headliner thing a few years ago with “Doom” and “Pathfinder,” and might possibly be given another chance at the brass ring with “Judge Dredd 3D.”

The website Bleeding Cool claims they have the inside scoop on the coming adaptation of the 2000 AD title, and Urban is reportedly about to receive an offer to star in the mid-budgeted actioner. While not very big stateside, the cult English hero Judge Joe Dredd is an ultraviolent enforcer in a futuristic wasteland known as Mega-City One. We reviewed the Alex Garland-penned script here, and it seems action-heavy and intense, as the source material would seem to require. And while this is a leading role for Urban, it’s not exactly a star-making opportunity, as Dredd, as per the comics, will remain fully masked, saved for his crime-fighting lantern chin of justice. This was one of many ways the ill-advised 1995 adaptation diverged from the source material, as star Sylvester Stallone couldn’t resist each and every opportunity to showcase his steroid-loaded mug.

Urban has a number of higher profile films on his slate. He’ll appear in this fall’s “Red,” though that appears to be a much lower profile part, while also providing the menace as the villain in the upcoming “Priest.” He’s also presumably headed back to Starfleet for a “Star Trek” sequel, while IMDb lists him as starring in the next “Final Destination” film, though that’s the first we’ve heard of his involvement in that franchise. If he opts to star in “Dredd,” it looks like Urban will continue to resist any actual acting opportunities for the next couple of years, but we suppose there’s nothing wrong with being a professional action figure, as long as he doesn’t betray the law.