8) Dredd 2
What is it?
One of the great comic book pleasures of recent years came courtesy not of Marvel or DC, but the lesser-known Rebellion Developments. Pete Travis’ Dredd, written by Sunshine and Ex Machina man Alex Garland, was the film to finally put Sylvester Stallone’s Judge Dredd out of everyone’s minds, as a gleefully pulpy and hyper-violent tribute made on a fraction of what you probably think it cost. Dredd 2 is, of course, the proposed sequel.
Why it could escape development hell:
Unfortunately, Dredd didn’t make as much money as the studio hoped, and the sequel has been stuck in limbo since its release in 2012. Happily for those fans of Travis and Garland’s cult item, studios have shown a willingness to give sequels to cult sci-fi/fantasy before, by revamping the Riddick franchise in 2013.
Garland recently expressed doubts that Dredd 2 would ever get made, but only last year Dredd himself, Karl Urban, was talking potential stories for the sequel. Both Urban and producer Adi Shankar have an uphill struggle, it seems, but neither of them appear to be willing to back down yet.