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)