Video Games Return to the Movies
The history of video game-to-movie translations is one littered with many ravaged corpses. From Street Fighter to Tomb Raider to Mortal Kombat to Resident Evil, every single attempt (quite literally) has fallen squarely into the bargain bin, "B-movie" realm of film-making -- and that's being generous. But none of this means that Hollywood has stopped trying: with more than a dozen game-based movies in development, the writing is on the wall for a whole new era of mixed media. We've gone ahead and chosen a handful with potential -- remember, that's potential: we won't believe a video game movie can be good until we actually see one with our own eyes.
- Lost Planet (2009): David Hayter, writer of the second X-Men movie (X2), the upcoming Watchmen movie, and the voice behind Metal Gear Solid's protagonist, Solid Snake, is penning the script for the cinematic translation of Capcom's Lost Planet. Warner Brothers will distribute the flick, which is slated for next year.
- Prince of Persia (2009): Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is signed on to direct, while the cast already includes Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar. Oh, and Jordan Mechner – creator of the original Prince of Persia game – is helping write the script.
- Gears of War (2009): Epic's rather epic Xbox 360 shooter Gears of War will also be hitting the big screen next year, with Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld: Evolution) set to direct, and Chris Morgan (Wanted, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) penning a new draft of the screenplay.
- Metal Gear Solid (2009): In many ways, Metal Gear Solid feels more like a movie than it does a game: the wordy, never-ending cut-scenes, full of fancy camerawork and plots more complicated than a set of IKEA directions. So far, all we know is that Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet, Equilibrium) is set to direct, and that series creator Hideo Kojima will be working on the story.
- BioShock (2009): Gore Verbinski, who has repeatedly made reference to his interest in the medium of video games, is directing the film adaptation of last year's Game of the Year. The Pirates of the Caribbean director (as well as English version of The Ring), is directing, while John Logan, whose credits include Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Aviator, and Gladiator will be penning the screenplay.
- God of War (TBD): While it's less nailed-down that the other titles on this list, series creator David Jaffe has confirmed that a completed script for God of War has been penned by David Self, and that attempts are being made to get a "huge-name director" on board. Jaffe also expressed interest in seeing actor Djimon Hounsou in the role of the protagonist, Kratos.
