James Gunn Addresses If He Would Direct a Judge Dredd Movie

Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 writer and director James Gunn has weighed in on whether or not he would be down to tackle another (non-Marvel) comic book adaptation: Judge Dredd. “I’m a huge fan of the original Judge Dredd comics. Like, HUGE,” Gunn said during a Facebook Q&A. “But I don’t think I’d be interested in making a movie.”

Even if Gunn wanted to helm the next take on Dredd, the filmmaker won’t be stepping outside of the Marvel Universe anytime soon: Gunn, who will serve as executive producer on next year’s Avengers: Infinity War, revealed in April that he’s confirmed to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with the filmmaker expecting production to begin in “a little more than a year.”

Judge Dredd, a law enforcement officer tasked with protecting the dystopian future city of Mega-City One, first made his way to the big screen in 1995’s Judge Dredd. Starring Sylvester Stallone as the framed future cop, Judge Dredd was panned, with Stallone looking back on the movie as “a real missed opportunity” that “didn’t live up to what it could have been.”

A reboot, Dredd, arrived in 2012, starring Karl Urban as the hardcore law enforcer. A critical darling but a box office failure, Judge Dredd’s cinematic future is effectively halted despite fan rallying for a followup. In early 2016, Urban spoke on the possibility of the series’ continuation through a streaming service such as Netflix, saying “conversations are happening.” Earlier this year, a television series — Judge Dredd: Mega-City One — was put into early development.

Gunn is hard at work scripting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will come after the Guardians — Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Adolescent Groot (Vin Diesel) — make their third appearance in the upcoming Avengers threequel, blending almost every hero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Gunn made his feature directorial debut with 2006’s twisted horror/comedy/sci-fi combo Slither, a critical failure that would nonetheless endure as a cult favorite. Gunn followed up with 2010’s Super, a zany bend on the superhero genre, before bringing Marvel Comics’ little-heard-of Guardians to the Galaxy to the big screen in 2014. The surprise hit raked in critical acclaim and $773 million worldwide, launching hit-maker Marvel Studios’ newest franchise. Its sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, has brought in over $861 million since its release in May.