2000AD adaptation featuring a cast of comedians

Rogue Trooper – the 2000 AD comic book adaptation featuring a host of comedy stars – has received a warm industry welcome at its first official screening.

The adult animated military science fiction film, directed by Duncan Jones, has had its first run-out at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

It stars Aneurin Barnard as the titular character, with Hayley Atwell, Jack Lowden, Daryl McCormack,  and Sean Bean in supporting roles.

But there is also a strong streak of humour provided by Reece Shearsmith, Matt Berry, Asa Butterfield, Jemaine Clement, Alice Lowe, Diane Morgan, Adrian Edmondson, Al Murray and Henning Wehn.

And the first reaction from industry critics has been broadly positive.

Deadline declared Rogue Trooper a ‘fast, funny, visually mind-blowing old-school war movie’ noting: ‘The comedy doesn’t always land… but the bold choice here is to go broadly British and bathetic rather than ape the increasingly boring wisecracking style of the Marvel/DC movies.’

The film has a distinctive look – with an on-screen disclaimer that no AI was used – prompting Screen Daily to comment that the ‘aggressively synthetic hyper-real character design takes a bit of getting used to’.

But it praised the ambition of the ‘eccentric, entertaining animated actioner’ and concluded: ‘Not everything works, but there is much to admire in a picture which delivers plenty of space-ship crunching action and regional British insults but also manages to critique the cynical economic motivations of endless, pointless wars.’

Rogue Trooper was originally scheduled to be released in 2025, but has been delayed and no date has yet been set. 

The film was animated at at a fraction of the cost of  a Hollywood blockbuster using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5, which powers hundreds of games such as Fortnite, Gears of War: Reloaded and Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. 

Published: 24 Jun 2026