The first picture of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd has appeared online, and has generated yet more debate between fans of the 2000AD lawman.

Urban will star opposite Juno‘s Olivia Thirlby in this second retelling of the classic sci-fi character, and shooting is currently underway in Johannesburg for a probable 2012 release.

The comic-book has previously been adapted as a generally poorly-received movie starring Sylvester Stallone in 1995, which incurred the wrath of the established fanbase as it was seen to be too far removed from the source material.

Urban seems to have the look of the character right, and it has been claimed that he will not remove his helmet for the entire film – something which infuriated hardcore fans about the Stallone version. The official line is that this version of the world of Mega-City One will be a lot closer to the Judge Dredd mythology that the previous attempt, and has gained perhaps the most important seal of approval – that of original creator John Wagner.