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 of Detective Pikachu and most recently Sonic The Hedgehog, filmmakers are warming up to the idea of movie adaptations of games. Ever since Sonic's release in theaters there's been an uptick in updates from several current game-film projects like Uncharted, Borderlands, and even Saint's Row.
Sonic's record-breaking critical and commercial success brings 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.
Call of Duty
Rumored for years, a Call of Duty movie franchise could easily be translated to the screen with near-limitless potential. It's been reported that Activision is no longer interested in making a Call of Duty film, citing it's not a top priority for the company at this point, understandably so when considering Call of Duty games 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, the Call of Duty franchise has limitless potential for a cinematic universe in terms of storytelling. From the perspective of the games, Call of Duty's storytelling and themes have varied drastically per entry. Call of Duty 1-3 focused specifically on World War 2, taking the Saving Private Ryan approach by focusing on the heroics of Allied soldiers. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare honed in on the grittier and more ambiguous circumstances of war in the 21st century. Call of Duty: Black Ops featured a more complex story with elements of psychological warfare and mental instability with a Cold War backdrop.
Call of Duty storytelling 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 of potential actors who could make for the perfect Call of Duty action 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 with Castlevania. Whether it's one of the Belmonts or Alucard, there are plenty of tales from the Castlevania universe worth exploring in a movie setting. While the Castlevania anime 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 about Castlevania is 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 the Castlevania film from other Dracula interpretations would be incorporating the iconic characters that spawned from the series, such as Simon Belmont. Along with that, many of the Castlevania games reference other mythological creatures aside from vampires, meaning there's plenty of potential diversity to set it apart from another Dracula interpretation.
The lore of Castlevania has proven itself to be vastly different from its source material. As hard as it may seem to add another iconic whip to film history, Castlevania would 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 current Castlevania anime 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.
Castlevania
Coming-of-age stories are some of the most common movies subjects, from Boyhood to Lady Bird and 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 another Sega game called Persona, 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 why Persona should 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. Persona reaches 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 popular Persona 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 circumstance Persona games 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 the Dark Souls series is probably the most difficult affair among these games. The game's publisher Namco has even offered $10,000 in the past just to explain Dark Souls' cryptic lore. Storytelling in a Dark Souls film 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 of Dark Souls' greatest strengths, and its direct ambiguity is what fans value most from Dark Souls lore. Handled with particular care, a proper Dark Souls adaptation could be very evocative and innovative.
The very cyclical nature of Dark Souls through its incredible difficult gameplay and through the lore itself. Much of the Dark Souls story 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 a Dark Souls film adaptation is that its aesthetic is wholly unique compared to other popular fantasy films. Many have tried to emulate the art of Dark Souls games, 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 a Dark Souls film 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.
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 like Sonic The Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu are 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.