'Judge Dredd': Karl Urban will not remove his helmet

Karl Urban will not remove his helmet in the Judge Dredd movie, the character's creator has revealed.

John Wagner has revealed some more facts about Lionsgate's adaptation of the 2000 AD strip, and the reasons that he thinks the 1995 Sylvester Stallone version failed.

"Dredd homes in on the essential job of judging," Wagner told the Los Angeles Times.

"Instant justice in a violent future city... The plot is about Dredd and his world. It's impossible to cover every aspect of the character and his city. Perhaps that was one of the failings of the first film. They tried to do too much and ended up with not a lot."

He said that he had not watched the former adaptation since its release.

"They told the wrong story," Wagner continued. "It didn't have that much to do with Dredd the character as we know him. I don't think Stallone was a bad Dredd, though it would have been better and lent him more cred if he hadn't revealed his face. He was just Dredd in the wrong story. I envy their budget, though. Some of the CGI was very good."

Wagner also praised the stars of the new film, saying: "Olivia Thirlby is perfect as Anderson, the young Psi-Judge. She gives the character a touching vulnerability. Karl Urban will not remove his helmet and will not kiss his co-star."

Sometime Judge Dredd artist Jock has previously said that the film "looks great".

Dredd's face has famously never been shown in the comic.

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