Judge 'Dredd' writer Alex Garland outlines his plans for 2 more films

Karl Urban as the title character in "Dredd."

Credit: Lionsgate

"Dredd" screenwriter Alex Garland needs your help.

"We’ll see a sequel if the gross is above $50 million in the US," said Garland, speaking during a "Dredd" panel at the London Film and Comic-Con festival over the weekend. "It’s a simple financial equation. We’re an independent movie."

In other words: buy a ticket, kids! If the first film hits the box-office threshold mentioned above, the scribe already has plans for a future installment featuring the villainous Dark Judges.

"In terms of Dark Judges, I wrote [Judge] Death into this script, but it didn’t feel right for the first film," he said. "I needed to have set up the city and Dredd first before taking on what is essentially a riff on the Judges. You need to know what the Judges are before you can subvert them."

And then, later:

"If they want to make sequels, I’ve got a story that goes from this one into the origins of Dredd and the city. Then the third one has would have a strange, existential attack from the Dark Judges."

Sounds like a plan, Stan...assuming, of course, that the conflict-plagued first installment even deserves a sequel in the first place.

Are you planning on seeing "Dredd" in theaters? Sound off in the comments!

"Dredd" stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey. Directed by Pete Travis ("Vantage Point"), it's slated for release on September 21. You can watch the trailer for the film here.