Anyone watching the movements of Tinseltown dealmakers can’t have missed that producers keep on securing rights to turn video games into silver-screen spectacles. Maybe it’s because Hollywood sees its financial salvation in the titles of another medium, or because the ascendant agents, directors and execs grew up playing video games and don’t seem them as a foreign language. Even if Prince of Persia isn’t a runaway hit (hey, we liked it) it’s a safe bet that people are going to keep trying to strike gold with a big-budget video game movie. So, let’s see what’s already been optioned and run down what Hollywood has to focus on to get some love.
Mass Effect
Movie Studio/Producers:
Warner Brothers (The Dark Knight, Green Lantern, Watchmen), Legendary Pictures (300, Ninja Assassin, Inception)
Talent Attached:
Initially, Avi Arad optioned the rights to Bioware’s epic action/RPG sci-fi series in September of 2008. Then, Legendary Pictures purchased the option, with Arad, his son Avi, Bioware’s founding doctors and Casey Hudson all aboard as producers. Arad was Marvel’s movie guy until 2009 and helped kickstart the first wave of movies based on the publisher’s characters. No one’s been confirmed yet but reports say that talks have been happening with Mark Protosevich for the film’s screenplay. Protosevich (I Am Legend) and is working on Marvel/Paramount’s upcoming Thor film.
What They Need to Nail:
The sprawling political ecosystem of the Alliance and the way Shepard’s choices affect his crew and the people he interacts with. The action in Mass Effect games is all well and good, but really they’re about story and how the player shapes it. Since you can’t give viewers control over the plot, the film needs to focus on showing how the things Shepard does ripple outward across the universe.
(More on Techland: In Which We Interview Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Casey Hudson from BioWare)
Kane & Lynch
Movie Studio/Producers:
Lionsgate (Daybreakers, Killers, The Expendables)
Talent Attached:
In a casting switch, Jamie Foxx will star as the mentally unhinged member of this criminal odd couple; Bruce Willis plays the imprisoned ex-merc being framed into pulling off a heist. Screenwriter Kyle Ward (3 Rounds) penned the script for adaptation for the IO Interactive game. Simon Crane–stunt co-ordinator on X-Men 3: The Last Stand–was supposed to make this his directorial debut but rumors say he’s out.
What They Need to Nail:
The antagonistic partnership between the title characters and the Eidos shooter’s heavily stylized missions. While the gameplay in K&L was glitchy and frustrating, it served up a strong storyline and ambitious set pieces.
(More on Techland: New Inception Trailer: Hooking the Heist Thriller up to the Dream Matrix)
Bioshock
Movie Studio/Producers:
Universal Studios (Repo Men, Get Him to the Greek, The Adjustment Bureau)
Talent Attached:
This deal made waves when it was announced that Gore Verbinski of Pirates of the Caribbean fame was attached to direct but he had to bail. The new director is Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later). No actors yet, but there’ve been rumors of Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) playing the lead role of Jack. The Spanish helmer will be working with a script by John Logan (Sweeney Todd, The Aviator) based on game creator Ken Levine’s story.
What They Need to Nail:
The decaying art-deco atmospherics of Rapture, Bioshock’s underwater city. Lead character Jack was a player-controlled shell with no real personality of his own. The game’s soul shone through the corridors of Rapture, and the set designs need to be amazing to capture the haunting feel of the game.
(More on Techland: Rapture: 10 Years Later (Lev and I Freak Out Over BioShock 2) )
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Movie Studio/Producers:
Sony Pictures (Spider-Man), Atlas Entertainment (12 Monkeys, Three Kings, The International)
Talent Attached:
Sony supposedly loves the take by screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara, the new Conan the Barbarian). Discussions for a director are happening and one high-profile name to pop up has been David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees). Casting rumors for lead character Nathan Drake has teased everyone from Nathan Fillion to Hugh Jackman as in the running.
What They Need to Nail:
Exotic locales and the snarky charm of Nathan Drake. The treasure hunter’s rougish charm is practically a gameplay element and he’s got tons more personality than most gaming leads. He’s impulsive and fallible, something that the right casting could convey.
(More on Techland: Video Game Award Season: Uncharted 2 Unlocks Trophies at GDC)
Infamous
Movie Studio/Producers:
Avi Arad Productions (Lost Planet, Mass Effect)
Talent Attached:
Script’s supposedly being written by Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard remake, Up in the Air) but no further details have surfaced.
What They Need to Nail:
The way that Cole McGrath’s electric superpowers link him to Empire City. The best narrative element about the PS3 action/adventure exclusive is how Cole is singlehandedly bringing the city back to life, after it got wrecked by the accident that gave him his powers.
(More on Techland: Rapture Match #2: Cole McGrath (inFAMOUS) vs. Zeus (God of War))
Dead Space
Movie Studio/Producers:
Temple Hill (Dear John, the Twilight movies)
Talent Attached:
A Variety report pegged director D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye) as the man bringing EA’s crap-your-pants sci-fi scarefest to movie theaters.
What They Need to Nail:
The quiet, nerve-wracking tension and the grotesque designs of the Necromorphs. Dead Space’s lead character Isaac Clarke spends most of the game in creepy isolation on the futuristic mining ship, which makes the attacks by the patchwork monsters made up of reanimated by dead people so heart-stoppingly frightening.
(More on Techland: EA Confirms Dead Space 2, Its Dismemberment Plan )
Gears of War
Movie Studio/Producers:
New Line (Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Temple Hill (Dear John, the Twilight movies)
Talent Attached:
At one point, Len Wiseman (Underworld) was attached to direct and a script Chris Morgan (Wanted). But, according to the Los Angeles Times, the project’s in a state of flux, so things seem unsure.
What They Need to Nail:
The repercussions of the chaotic fight against the Locust and the visceral, desperate kills that are the series hallmark. Marcus Fenix and the rest of Delta Squad come off like gruff hard-asses encased in heavy armor, but they’ve all got emotionally complicated pasts that crop back up in the war for Sera’s future. The war’s taken things from all of them, which makes for good grist for a movie plot.
(More on Techland: The Techland Interview: Cliff Bleszinski, Part 1)
God of War
Movie Studio/Producers:
Universal Studios (Repo Men, Get Him to the Greek, The Adjustment Bureau)
Talent Attached:
Scuttlebutt says that David Self (Road to Perdition) has written a screenplay for Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour movies, X-Men 3: The Last Stand). No word on which actor would be playing the Ghost of Sparta, but bald bad-ass Vin Diesel’s been floated as a natural choice.
What They Need to Nail:
The blood-&-guts and ginormous scale of Kratos’ quest for vengeance against the gods. Honestly, there’s no way a movie could feature enemies’ entrails as much as the God of War games do. So, any focus on Krato’s unrelenting deicide would have to concentrate on how small he can be against the foes he has to fight. (God of War III provides a pretty good blueprint, though.)
(More on Techland: Whom the Gods Would Destroy: The God of War III review)
Halo
Movie Studio/Producers:
Microsoft
Talent Attached:
It’s well-known by now that Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkamp turned the pre-production work they were doing on an aborted Halo movie in last year’s clever cult hit District 9. A screenplay by Stuart Beattie (the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) is said to exist but all Microsoft rep generally say is that the movie will happen when the time is right.
What They Need to Nail:
The universe-spanning nature of the series’ mythology. The Halo games cover a lot of ground: Master Chief blasts his way through multiple solar systems and the Covenant’s made up of various races from all over the fictional universe. Figuring out how to execute the quasi-religious vibe of the series’ villains might be tricky, but it’s essential to what makes Halo feel so grandiose.
(More on Techland: Halo: Reach Multiplayer Trailer Gets Explained, Stabs You in the Gut)
World of Warcraft
Movie Studio/Producers:
Blizzard Entertainment, Warner Brothers (The Dark Knight, Green Lantern, Watchmen), Legendary Pictures (300, Ninja Assassin, Inception)
Talent Attached:
The prospective WoW movie got a big mojo boost when it was announced Sam Raimi (the Spider-Man movies, the Evil Dead movies) would possibly be directing. The screenplay Raimi gets in his hands may be based on a story from Blizzard’s own Chris Metzen and Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan). It’s unclear whether it’ll be a live-action spectacle like the Lord of the Rings movies or a CGI-fest like Avatar.
What They Need to Nail:
The strong social networks and unpredictability of the WoW universe. Blizzard’s MMO juggernaut succeeds because players form relationships with each other and, while a movie won’t be able to capitalize on that, a cast that forms believable bonds while grinding their way up to an epic battle could go a long way towards channeling that energy.
(More on Techland: Blizzard Reflects on Five Years of World of Warcraft)