It seems that any and all genre fans have been crying out to see a live-action return for Judge Dredd following the warm reception to 2012’s Karl Urban-starring Dredd, and now we’ve finally all been given our wish!

In an exclusive from EW, a new Dredd-heavy TV show is in development. Titled Judge Dredd: Mega-City One, the series is being developed by IM Global and Rebellion, with Battlestar Galactica’s Mark Stern, IM Global TV CEO Stuart Ford, and Rebellion’s Jason Kingsley and Chris Kingsley on board as executive producers. Encouragingly, the Kingsleys and Ford were also producers on Dredd.

Early plot details for this new series reveal that it will (obviously!) be set in the future, with the East Coast of the United States having become a hive of criminal activity. As such, the action will focus on a team of Judges tasked with cleaning up the streets in the only way they know how – by serving as judge, jury and executioner.

On this news, Mark Stern enthused, “This is one of those seminal sci-fi properties that seems to only become more relevant with age. Not only is it a rich world with biting social commentary, but it’s also fun as hell! As a fan of the comics and both films, it’s a dream come true to be able to work with Jason and Chris in adapting this for television.”

Jason and Chris Kingsley added, “We’re very excited to be beginning the journey to get more of Judge Dredd’s Mega-City One on the television screen. Thanks to the legions of fans who kept up pressure on social media, and a lot of background work and enthusiasm, we aim to make a big budget production that will satisfy both our vast comics audience and the even greater general screen-watching public.”

The character of Judge Dredd began life back in 1977 as a creation of John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, and he soon became the poster boy of 2000 AD. His skull-cracking antics have been served up on the big screen twice so far, with Sylvester Stallone starring in the ill-judged Judge Dredd back in 1995, and then Karl Urban donning the helmet in the stunning 2012 Dredd.

Unfortunately, while Dredd wowed those who saw it, it sadly didn’t attract many eyes during its initial cinema release. The movie did, however, find a home on DVD and Blu-ray, soon becoming a cult favourite of many genre fans. As such, subsequent years have seen regular talk of Urban returning in some fashion, be it on the silver screen or on the small screen.

Casting news is expected to follow a little down the line, so now we all just need to get our fingers and toes crossed that Karl Urban will indeed return as Judge Joseph Dredd…

In the meantime, EW has also released the first poster for Judge Dredd: Mega-City One:

As ever, expect more on all of this as it develops.