Judge Dreddmarked a rare stab at sci-fi for Sylvester Stallone, who later dubbed the 1995 blockbuster his “biggest mistake.” While he’s enjoyed much success throughout his career,Stallone has made many movies he regrets, having called out misfiring projects such asRhinestone,Escape Plan 2: HadesorDrivenin the past. He was also the victim of an excellent prank whenSchwarzenegger tricked Stallone intoStop! Or My Mom Will Shoot;Arnie knew the film would be terrible, but feigned interest so his box-office rival would sign on.
Stallone’s career went through many fluctuations during the 1990s, withJudge Dreddbeing one of his biggest disappointments. The film had an amazing supporting cast and production design forMega-City One, though it completely misunderstood the2000 ADsource material.Judge Dreddgrossed a grim $113 million on an estimated $90 million budget(viaThe Numbers) killing any hope of a franchise. While the 2012 rebootDreddreceived great reviews and a cult following, it was another financial failure.
Sylvester Stallone Believes Judge Dredd Is His Biggest Missed Opportunity
Stallone laments Judge Dredd as his “biggest mistake”
Stallone is usually wry about movie failures, like his poorly receivedSaturday Night FeversequelStaying AliveorRhinestone, but he sounds downright melancholy whenever he discussesJudge Dredd. In 2008 the star spoke eloquently withUncutmagazine about all the things that drew him to the project, including its themes and the issues it explored.
I loved that property when I read it, because it took a genre that I love, what you could term the ‘action morality film’, and made it a bit more sophisticated. It had political overtones. It showed how if we don’t curb the way we run our judicial system, the police may end up running our lives. It dealt with archaic governments; it dealt with cloning and all kinds of things that could happen in the future. It was also bigger than any film I’ve done in its physical stature and the way it was designed. All the people were dwarfed by the system and the architecture; it shows how insignificant human beings could be in the future.
Stallone wasn’t familiar with the2000 ADcomics when he signed on, but he quickly saw the potential in adapting it. Regardless,he looks back onJudge Dredd"as a real missed opportunity" (viaIndieLondon) and feels it should have been more fun, instead of trying to walk the line between serious and comic. He also cites clashing with director Danny Cannon, and the fact that nobody involved could agree on the movie’s tone. Cannon filmed a dark, R-rated action thriller with a satirical edge, while Stallone and the producers wanted a lighter PG-13 adventure.
It’s unlikely Stallone is blameless in the way Judge Dredd turned out either, with the film doing a terrible job of translating the comic character to the screen…
The final film can never reconcile those tones, where scenes of cringe-worthy humor (often delivered by co-star Rob Schneider) give way to scenes of brutal action. It’s unlikely Stallone is blameless in the wayJudge Dreddturned out either, with the film doing a terrible job of translating the comic character and his stoic persona to the screen. Instead,Stallone’s Dredd is prone to bad action hero quips and has an ill-fitting romance with Diane Lane’s Judge Hershey.
Stallone Dismisses The Judge Dredd Helmet Controversy
There was zero chance Stallone was going to cover his face for the entire film
Possibly the most controversial thing that Stallone’sJudge Dredddid was remove the character’s helmet - which is a major no-no from the comics. While Dredd has taken his signature helmet off many times in2000 AD, his face has never been seen clearly, and this is a rule Karl Urban’s take on the character held to.Given that Stallone was a major star and the movie was being sold on his name, there was zero chance the 1995 film would have covered his facefor the entire runtime. Stallone also feels this was far from the movie’s biggest failing.
It seemed that lots of fans had a problem with Dredd removing his helmet, because he never does in the comic books. But for me it is more about wasting such great potential there was in that idea; just think of all the opportunities there were to do interesting stuff with the Cursed Earth scenes. It didn’t live up to what it could have been.
The star makes the point that there are much bigger issues at play inJudge Dreddthan the helmet. The Cursed Earth is one of the famous elements from the comic, but this entire section is a brief subplot in the film. Strip away the futuristic setting and gadgets, the film basically riffs on the plot of Stallone’sTango & Cash, another film where a cop gets framed for murder and sent to prison.Of all the interesting lore and storylinesJudge Dreddcould have explored, it went for the most hackneyed optionimaginable.
Still, the movie could have handled the helmet issue more creatively. For instance,when Stallone’s protagonist is sentenced aroundJudge Dredd’smidway mark, it would have been more impactful to see a character who defines himself as a living embodiment of the law stripped of his uniform and helmet then. This would have been emotionally devastating for Dredd, but instead, Stallone takes the helmet off about ten minutes in like it’s no big deal.
Burger King wanted nothing to do with the movie’s R-rating
Judge Dreddis a project that spent years in development hell, as it was tough for producers to grasp the comic’s dark satire and tone. Arnold Schwarzenegger passed on the lead, while directors like Tony Scott and Renny Harlin also circled the project. Instead, the director’s chair went to a young British filmmaker named Danny Cannon, who was a fan of2000 AD. Despite this, he clashed with both Stallone and producers and,despite being asked to deliver a PG-13 movie, Cannon did nothing to pull back on the violence.
Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza described to Oliver Harper how he had delivered a PG-13 screenplay that implied violence, only for Cannon to film protracted scenes of gore. This includes the death of Jürgen Prochnow’s villain, who gets his arms and legs ripped off by a robot. As written, this took place offscreen, butCannon had a lifesized dummy of the actor built and actually filmed the character’s brutal death. This and other sequences of violence led toJudge Dreddgetting rated X by the MPAA.
The original finale briefly turnedJudge Dreddinto a monster movie, as Stallone’s titular character blasted his unfinished clones with a shotgun; this scene was also cut for violence.
A desperate plea by the producer led to one final MPAA appeal, where the film was given an R rating instead. This meantthe blockbuster’s planned tie-in with Burger King had to be scrapped, as the chain couldn’t sell toys for an R-rated film. Cannon has rarely spoken of the experience ofJudge Dreddin the years since, though he swore off working with another A-list star following his time with Stallone.
Judge Dredd Could Have Been One Of Stallone’s Great Franchises
There’s no reason there couldn’t have been a trilogy of Judge Dredd movies
The world ofJudge Dreddin the comics is an incredibly vast and rich one. There are decades' worth of great characters and story arcs (The Dark Judges, the Cursed Earth saga, etc), and tonally it has something for everybody.Judge Dreddcomics can be funny, violent, creepy, heartbreaking or extremely political, depending on the writer or artist. With all that considered, it should have become a franchise to rivalRockyorRambofor Stallone.
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Given how big comic book movies have become, Stallone undoubtedly knows this too. The star does seem to shoulder some of the responsibility for this and perhaps realized too late thatJudge Dreddwas lacking a united vision from the creatives involved. 2012’sDreddwould right the ship in this regard on a much lower budget - unfortunately, it failed to connect with audiences either.
Judge Dredd
Cast
Judge Dredd is a 1995 sci-fi action film based on the comic character of the same name. Set in a distant dystopian future, humanity has elected “Judges,” to deal out justice, who act as “judge, jury, and executioner” as they tend to the lawless world of Mega-City One. But when Judge Dredd is framed for murder by his own brother, Dredd will strike back against him to reestablish the rule of Law and bring him to justice.
TheJudge Dreddfranchise is based on the dystopian law enforcement character Judge Dredd, who originated from the British comic series2000 ADin 1977. Created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, Judge Dredd serves as both judge and executioner in the futuristic and crime-ridden Mega-City One. The franchise blends science fiction with dark satire, critiquing totalitarianism and authoritarian justice systems. Over time,Judge Dreddhas evolved into a multimedia franchise that includes comics, films, and video games, with two major film adaptations:Judge Dredd(1995) starring Sylvester Stallone andDredd(2012) starring Karl Urban.
