For decades, video game adaptations have been ridiculed for failing to live up to the games that inspired them, or for the way they flopped at the box office. It’s undergone massive changes this year, including the recent premiere of five nights at freddy’sWhich performed against expectations and had a great opening weekend despite being available on Peacock on the same day.
Many of the best video games have already been adapted into movies and TV shows as early as 2023. But if there was ever a time to cash in on this trend, it’s now. The Hollywood onslaught is over, and video games are an IP minefield that studios haven’t yet fully exploited. And for our money, these are seven video game adaptations we can’t wait to see.
bioshock
Hollywood is trying to figure out how to adapt bioshock There is nothing left to show for it since its release in 2007. Director Gore Verbinski remained attached to the project for several years, but clashed with Universal when the studio demanded he lower the R-rating and cut his planned $200 million adaptation to about $80 million. Verbinski eventually left the project, and it became stuck in development hell.
Recently, The Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence signed on to direct bioshock With feature for Netflix blue eye samurai Co-creator Michael Green is writing the script. It’s unclear what Lawrence and Green plan to do with the film, but there’s plenty of material to draw from. The first two games take place in an underwater city known as Rapture, which has been taken over by genetically enhanced (and insane) humans.
third game, Bioshock Infinite, has more compelling characters, including Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, as well as a new city called Columbia, hanging in the sky. Any setting can make for a great film, if done with respect to the source material.
metal Gear Solid
Since 1998, Hideo Kojima metal Gear Solid and its sequels have been praised for their cinematic visuals and entertaining stories. It’s like an action movie come to life. The problem with bringing that story to Hollywood as a movie is that the game can last perhaps five to 10 hours, depending on the skill level of the player and the length of the game. But theatrical films only have two hours to work with, and squeezing this game’s story into that small amount of time will be a real challenge.
Sony is currently developing metal Gear Solid Jordan Vogt-Roberts is set to direct, as a starring vehicle for Oscar Isaac. But since 2020, there has been no updated information about this project. In other words, don’t hold your breath for this one.
Alan Wake
Alan Wake has a premise that is completely unique. In the game, Alan is a best-selling horror novelist desperately trying to find his missing wife while his latest book comes to life all around him. Basically, Alan is becoming the main character of his own horror story, and it can’t end well for him.
Games are already set like episodes of TV shows, so it’s not surprising that Alan Wake has been optioned for television. AMC has the rights to adapt games, and that cable network already has a lot of leverage the walking dead, Alan Wake doesn’t need multiple spinoffs, it just needs one great show.
God of war
The God of War games are being adapted as a TV series by Amazon Prime Video. Therefore there is a possibility of it going into production. However, early reports indicate that Prime Video plans to sideline the most compelling aspects of Kratos’ backstory. First God of war The game depicts Kratos’ quest to defeat Ares in order to avenge the death of his family. god of war 2 And god of war iii It was revealed that Kratos was the son of Zeus, and his ultimate destiny was to kill the Greek Pantheon after Zeus betrayed him.
This is the TV series we should get. Instead, Sony and Prime Video are taking cues from 2018 God of war The game, which featured an aged Kratos as the surviving parents of his son, Atreus, in the realm of the Norse gods. It’s a great story in its own right, but telling only half of Kratos’s history would be a disservice to him. God of war,
ghost of tsushima
Sony has given PlayStation gamers many unforgettable single-player titles, including ghost of tsushima, In the game, players assume control of a samurai warrior named Jin Sakai during the first Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274. As the last surviving member of his clan, Jin must find a way to take back the island of Tsushima from its conquerors.
john wick Director Chad Stahelski has signed this post ghost of tsushima As for Sony Pictures, so there’s a good chance this film will eventually get made.
Dragon’s Lair
Dragon’s Lair It was one of the most innovative arcade games of 1983 as it gave players control of the fate of an animated heroic knight, Dirk the Daring, during his quest to save Princess Daphne from an evil dragon. These days, we’d call it an interactive movie. This game was also extremely hilarious because if players made even one wrong movie, Dirk would suffer some very gruesome deaths.
Former Disney animator Don Bluth was its lead producer. Dragon’s Lair, and he’s been trying to interest studios in a full-length animated feature for years. Netflix also has the rights to make a live-action adaptation Dragon’s Lair, Ryan Reynolds is attached to play the role of Darhk. Given Reynolds’ involvement, that’s probably what will happen.
the Legend of Zelda
Thanks for the success of super mario bros movieNintendo is ready to tackle an even more ambitious adaptation. Earlier this month, Sony and Nintendo announced that a legend of Zelda Live-action film in development kingdom of the planet of the apes Director Wes Ball is directing the film.
The Zelda games are one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, and one of the most beloved series of roleplaying games since 1986. The chronology of the games is complicated, but if the movie can capture the essence of Link, Zelda, and the incredible world of Hyrule, it could have the same box office as Mario. But only if the movie is as good as the game.