The first image of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd has gone online.  Actually, it's the first image of Karl Urban's lower-face an that's all of his visage that you'll see in the movie since the character won't be removing his helmet.  The image is from rehersals and was posted in the Twitter feed of comic artist Jock, who is working as a concept artist on the film.

Hit the jump to check out the full image along with the synopsis.  Directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point) and costarring Olivia Thirlby (Juno), the 3D film is currently shooting in Johannesburg.  According to Urban, this new adaptation will be more faithful to the comic than the 1995 version that starred Sylvester Stallone.

Image via Jock via @Schofizzy.

Here's the synopsis for Dredd:

DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot – if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Peter Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip.