Upcoming Video Game To Screen Adaptations
Video game adaptations are often pretty bad which is why gamers and moviegoers alike are often distrusting of them. Sometimes they’re bad because they barely resemble the games on which they were based – Paul W. S. Anderson’s Resident Evil is one such culprit – but more often than not, they’re bad because little effort has been put into creating them. Any adaptation headlined by Uwe Boll can fit into this category.
Still, there have been some decent video game adaptations, including the recent HBO series The Last Of Us, so we should remain optimistic.
There are a number of adaptations slated for release over the next few years although we suspect some of these will never see the light of day. Here’s hoping that those that do make it to the screen are worthy of the game titles on which they are based.
Check out our pick of the upcoming game-to-screen adaptations below and keep scrolling to check out the list of other titles that are rumoured for release.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The last time we had a Super Mario Bros movie was in 1993 and we all know how badly that one turned out! Thankfully, this new adaptation actually looks pretty good, so we could be in for a pleasant surprise when the movie hits theatres in April. Chris Pratt is voicing the red-hatted plumber and joining him in the cast is Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as the barrel-throwing Donkey Kong.
Expected release date: April 7, 2023
Gran Turismo
The adaptation of Sony’s iconic driving series will be coming to theatres later this year. District 9 director Neil Blomkamp is at the helm of the movie which will focus on a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills gave him the ability to win a series of Nissan competitions and become an actual racing car driver. The movie is based on a true story and stars Midsommar actor Archie Madekwe in the lead role.
Expected release date: August 11, 2023
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
The speedy blue hedgehog will be back for a third movie at the end of 2024. The first two movies were reasonably entertaining so hopes are high that the third instalment for Sonic will be just as enjoyable. Little is known about the movie at this stage but we assume Shadow the Hedgehog will be an integral part of the plot as his arrival was teased at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Expected release date: December 20, 2024
The Division
An adaptation of Ubisoft’s The Division was in development at Netflix with Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber at the helm. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain were set to star in the movie but in recent months, there have been rumours that the project may have been cancelled. As the game is set in a post-pandemic world, it might be that the movie’s producers assumed it would hit too close to home. But don’t give up hope just yet. There has been no official word on the status of the project and as the critically acclaimed The Last of Us also deals with a pandemic, it might be the movie will eventually be given the light of day.
Expected release date: TBA
Tomb Raider
Amazon has bought the rights to the Tomb Raider franchise and early word suggests they are planning both a film and a TV series. Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is attached to the upcoming show but as executive producer and not as Lara Croft. A sequel to 2018’s Tomb Raider was cancelled last year after MGM’s rights to the character expired so the news that new adaptations are in the works will be reassuring for fans. Netflix is set to release a Tomb Raider anime series too, with Hayley Atwell as Lara, so there is much to look forward to for fans of the games.
Expected release date: TBA
Bioshock
Rumours about a Bioshock movie have been doing the rounds for quite some time, at one point with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski attached to the project. But with little information forthcoming, it was assumed that the movie had sunk without a trace, which is quite fitting considering the underwater setting of 2K Game’s dystopian video game series. Thankfully, news of a new movie has surfaced in recent months and it looks as if it is definitely going ahead. Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence will be directing the Bioshock adaptation for Netflix but there is no news of casting at this stage.
Expected release date: 2024
Borderlands
Filming on Borderlands has wrapped but there is no news of a release date yet. Hostel director Eli Roth is at the helm of this adaptation of Gearbox’s space western game, although Deadpool director Tim Miller was called in to direct some additional footage due to Roth’s commitments to another project. Cate Blanchett is the star of the new movie, as Lilith, an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, and Jack Black is voicing Claptrap, the general-purpose robot that became the franchise’s mascot.
Expected release date: TBA
Five Nights At Freddy’s
Blumhouse is behind this adaption of the survival horror series that centred on the player’s attempts to avoid a terrible death at the hands of Freddy Fazbear, an animatronic puppet that comes to life after hours at a pizza restaurant. Matthew Lillard, Josh Hutcherson, and Mary Stuart Masterson are among the cast of this new movie which will apparently focus on a security guard who comes face to face with the less-than-friendly bear on the first night of his new job.
Expected release date: 2024
Gears Of War
Gears of War was a massive hit for Microsoft when the game was released for Xbox and several sequels followed that proved to be just as popular. The games followed the battle-hardened Delta Squad, led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, as they went into combat against the Locust Horde, a reptilian army of humanoids on the planet Sera. The game franchise will now be getting both a live-action film and an animated series courtesy of Netflix. We don’t know who will be taking on the lead role of Marcus in the movie but Dave Bautista is apparently very interested in the part.
Expected release date: TBA
Ghost Of Tsushima
Sucker Punch’s epic action game, which tells the tale of samurai Jin Sakai and his efforts to fight back against a Mongol invasion, is being turned into a movie with John Wick director Chad Stahelski at the helm. There is no news of casting yet but Bullet Train actor (and fan of the game) Andrew Koji wants to take on the role of Jin.
Expected release date: TBA
It Takes Two
Dwayne Johnson is producing this adaptation of It Takes Two, the popular co-op adventure game by Hazelight Studios. The game focuses on Cody and May, a bickering couple who become trapped in the bodies of their daughter’s tiny dolls and who then have to find a way to get back to their adult bodies while exploring a world from a miniature viewpoint. Johnson is interested in taking on the role of Cody apparently but as to who will star alongside him, we don’t yet know.
Expected release date: TBA
Other game titles slated for a movie or TV show adaptation
There are no official release dates for any of the following (as was the case with most of the above) and chances are, it might be game over for some of these rumoured adaptations. But if they do get a release, here’s hoping we see them sooner rather than later.
Movies
Days Gone
Death Stranding
Duke Nukem
Firewatch
Just Cause
Mega Man
Metal Gear Solid
Minecraft
Pac-Man
Portal
Saints Row
Sifu
Space Channel 5
Streets of Rage
Yakuza
TV Shows
Alan Wake
Assassin’s Creed
Devil May Cry
Fallout
God of War
Horizon
Mass Effect
Nier: Automata
Splinter Cell
System Shock
Twisted Metal
Which of these adaptations are you most looking forward to? Which video game adaptations do you think would work best on the small screen? Let us know in the comments below!