In what we hope is an appropriately unilateral action, 2000AD has taken it upon itself to release the first image of actor Karl Urban in full Judge Dredd regalia, taken during rehearsals for the upcoming film adaptation. Posted innocuously at the publisher's message boards earlier today, the image shows Urban as the Dredd we all hoped he'd be: helmeted, armed, and looking extremely pissed off.

This encouraging visage of Judge Dredd is the latest in a promising line of news items about the new film based on John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's ultraviolent lawman. ComicsAlliance reported previously on the film's securing a record $30 million in pre-sales to foreign markets, and the movie has since secured U.S. distribution courtesy of Lionsgate.

Directed by Peter Travis from a script by Alex Garland, Dredd will be truer to the over-the-top satirical source material than the disappointing 1995 effort that starred Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schnieder. The new film will be shot in 3D and by much of the crew responsible for District 9. No release date has been set.

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