Video game movies for the longest time were jokes, for good reason: many of the first attempts to translate interactive media to the silver screen resulted in several box office failures. With the wild success ofDetective Pikachuand most recentlySonic The Hedgehog, filmmakers are warming up to the idea of movie adaptations of games. Ever sinceSonic’s release in theaters there’s been an uptick in updates from several current game-film projects likeUncharted,Borderlands, and evenSaint’s Row.
Sonic’s record-breaking critical and commercial successbrings with it a renewed faith in video game film adaptations, meaning more are on the way. There’s no shortage of source material for video game films adaptations to choose from, and fans likely have their own personal favorites. Here are a few prime candidates for the next big video game film adaptation that aren’t already in production.
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Call of Duty
Rumored for years, aCall of Dutymovie franchise could easily be translated to the screen with near-limitless potential. It’s been reported thatActivision is no longer interested in making aCall of Dutyfilm, citing it’s not a top priority for the company at this point, understandably so when consideringCall of Dutygames continue to be some of the highest-selling game releases every year. Activision likely wants to focus on the core of their franchise in the games, rather than place their bets on a (probably) big budget action movie in a highly competitive space.
What’s disappointing is that with the right production and direction,theCall of Dutyfranchise has limitless potential for a cinematic universein terms of storytelling. From the perspective of the games,Call of Duty’s storytelling and themes have varied drastically per entry.Call of Duty 1-3focused specifically on World War 2, taking theSaving Private Ryanapproach by focusing on the heroics of Allied soldiers.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfarehoned in on the grittier and more ambiguous circumstances of war in the 21st century.Call of Duty: Black Opsfeatured a more complex story with elements of psychological warfare and mental instability with a Cold War backdrop.
Call of Dutystorytelling has jumped through massively different versions of itself, exploring different time periods in unique ways. Several of its iterations (though not all) have featured a story full of surprising detail and subject matter for a game well known for its arcade-like multiplayer shooter experience. Hopefully, Activision will revisit the potential film project, even when there’s tons ofpotential actors who could make for the perfectCall of Dutyaction hero. Crafting a film from the franchise could take a variety of forms, providing enough of a backdrop to either draw from or emulate in an original story.
Castlevania
It’s been a long time since there’s been a big-budget vampire movie that’s been popular, and what better way to bring back vampire movies than withCastlevania. Whether it’s one of the Belmonts or Alucard,there are plenty of tales from theCastlevaniauniverse worth exploringin a movie setting. While theCastlevaniaanime TV show has seen great critical success, a live-action adaptation of one of the most iconic video game franchises would be perfect for a big Hollywood production.
The great thing aboutCastlevaniais that its source material actually comes from the 1931 film by Universal Pictures, meaning the transition (or return) to film would be even easier than the other series in this list. What would distinguish theCastlevaniafilm fromotherDraculainterpretationswould be incorporating the iconic characters that spawned from the series, such as Simon Belmont. Along with that, many of theCastlevaniagames reference other mythological creatures aside from vampires, meaning there’s plenty of potential diversity to set it apart from anotherDraculainterpretation.
The lore ofCastlevaniahas proven itself to be vastly different from its source material. As hard as it may seem to add another iconic whip to film history,Castlevaniawould be a perfect opportunity to express its own take on the famous Dracula myth. It’s easy to envision a gory horror/thriller film with entertaining fight scenes and moments, similar to that of the currentCastlevaniaanime on Netflix. Take that adaptation and apply a large budget, live-action coat to it, and it could easily be one of the best horror movies out there.
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Coming-of-age stories are some of the most common movies subjects, fromBoyhoodtoLady Birdand far more. The whole story surrounds character development of the protagonist and their relationship with the supporting cast, and each movie sums up with a moral lesson to teach viewers an important principle of life. Oftentimes, none of these movies mean diving into a metaphysical universe filled with monsters born from their inner demons. Welcome to anotherSega game calledPersona, a series full of wildly different coming-of-age stories.
Persona, in its various depictions, each focus on different aspects of growing up and understanding one’s self. The reason whyPersonashould have a movie (anime or otherwise) adaptation is its sense of style and world. Coming-of-age stories are often grounded in realism, showcasing how a normal person’s life can be shaped by relatable circumstances.Personareaches the same end goal, but its defining aspect is the meta-physical world the protagonist and friends visit to accomplish that goal. It’s a place full of monsters and mysterious representative of the emotions of those around the protagonist.
In the most recent example,the very successful and popularPersona 5, each “palace” the player visits in game is a manifestation of the villain’s distorted worldview. Players shift from the real world to the cognitive world and defeat monstrous versions of the villain’s emotions. Each character dresses up and uses their “persona,” an embodiment of the character’s rebellious spirit, to fight the monsters. It’s an incredibly abstract and highly stylized depiction of the emotional turmoil that can happen in a young adult’s life. Pair that with the visual flair, pomp, and circumstancePersonagames are known for, and you have the perfect balance of a coming-of-age story with a thrilling action romp.
Dark Souls
Developing a film adaptation in theDark Soulsseries is probably the most difficult affair among these games. The game’s publisherNamco has even offered $10,000 in the past just to explainDark Souls’cryptic lore. Storytelling in aDark Soulsfilm would be the greatest measure of atmospheric storytelling in a movie because of its niche nature. But at the same time, this type of storytelling is one ofDark Souls’greatest strengths, and its direct ambiguity is what fans value most fromDark Soulslore. Handled with particular care, a properDark Soulsadaptation could be very evocative and innovative.
The very cyclical nature ofDark Soulsthrough its incredible difficult gameplayand through the lore itself. Much of theDark Soulsstory across the three games is all about continuous life and death, but it’s most certainly not as cut and dry as that seems. Legends of gods, dragons, and souls clashing together all build up the dark fantasy of the series' lore, filled with complex and cryptic details in between linked together in ways not immediately apparent. Condensing that into a 2 hour film would be incredibly difficult, and more than likely would require a lot of interpretive elements and vagueness.
The big thing with aDark Soulsfilm adaptation is that its aesthetic is wholly unique compared to other popular fantasy films. Many have tried toemulate the art ofDark Soulsgames, but it truly remains one of the most unique games ever made. The games are a uniquely dark, gothic-inspired experience bursting with horror and dread, somehow matched with some of the most beautiful set pieces in the history of games. Even if the story of aDark Soulsfilm made absolutely no sense, so long as the movie aesthetically emulates the games it could easily become one of the most beautiful movies ever made.
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More Video Game Movies Are Coming
Transferring any existing medium to another is an inherently difficult task. It’s why the whole “the book is better than the movie” train of thought exists, because no form of media blends seamlessly with another. Games are a wholly different beast when it comes to this problem, and its why for the longest time producers and directors have shied away from adapting games to the silver screen.
That being said, projects of passion likeSonic The HedgehogandDetective Pikachuare able to break the curse beginning to prove that those who understand the diametric differences between games and movies are finally able to properly adapt games into films. It may be a longer waiting game for this aforementioned titles, but they have the potential to make great films if done right.
