The great thing about Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy is that the New Zealand actor so transformed himself to play the lanky, southern Star Trek doctor that he’s almost unrecognizable as Karl Urban. So should he show up as say, Judge Dredd, you won’t look at the screen and wonder “hey why is Bones shooting people?” That’s an obstacle DeForest Kelly was never really able to overcome as McCoy. His portrayal was brilliant and utterly iconic, but ultimately there was a lot of him in Bones. Seeing him on screen as anyone else seemed almost impossible.

So now it looks like Karl Urban really might be playing the previously mentioned, potentially iconic Judge Dredd and that’s fine by me. He confirmed that he’s not only in contention to star in a reboot of the futuristic, lawgiving comic book character, but that he actually has the part.

Because Urban is the kind of actor who so transforms himself to take on the part, he's also ok with not showing his face in the film. In the comics, Judge Dredd keeps his helmet on and in a recent interview with Movline, before finalizing his deal, he told them he'd be keeping Dredd's mask on. He explains, "Dredd is enigmatic, the faceless representative of justice. His prevailing attitudes, his strength of moral character, and the strength of his actions are what speak volumes for that character."

The last time we saw Judge Dredd on screen it was 1995 and he was played by Sylvester Stallone. The movie was a flop, a failure, and the punchline of far too many jokes. The next time you hear someone grunt “I am the law!”, Judge Dredd’s trademark catchphrase, odds are it’ll be said with sarcastic derision and not affection. This new version, set to start filming this fall, was written by 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland and promises to take the material more seriously. Casting Urban, a talented actor with a gift for physical, demanding action is definitely a step in the right direction.