Director Pete Travis’s (Vantage Point) next theatrical venture, Dredd, just welcomed another cast member to the upcoming comic reboot. The Playlist confirms that Lena Headey (300, Game of Thrones) will be playing the main antagonist in the film. Dredd is based on the popular British comic book character Judge Dredd, created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.

Karl Urban (Star Trek, Red) plays the title character and is joined by Olivia Thirlby (Juno, The Wackness). Filming is currently underway in South Africa and everything looks great based on set descriptions and fan photos. Add to that the decent reviews of the screenplay penned by Alex Garland (Never Let Me Go, Sunshine) and Dredd is shaping up quite nicely. This reboot of the franchise will have no link or association to the disastrous 1995 Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd film.

Urban has stated on record that Dredd himself will never be seen with his helmet off (just like in the comic) and said that the film will contain some serious action elements. Adding Headey to the cast certainly increases my interest in the production, she was extremely solid in The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Her character in Dredd, Ma-Ma, sounds like it will be a complete 180 for her appearance and performance on screen: “The matriarch of a drug gang, who deals with a reality-altering narcotic known as SLO-MO… as described in Gardland’s script as being heavily made-up and scared, in her later 50’s/early 60’s, and enormously fat.” Sounds like it’ll either be a solid win or a horrible prosthetic job.

Dredd is currently filming and is set for a 2012 release.