Top 10 Video Game Movies Currently in Development

Capcom’s action-RPG series tasks players with slaying fantastical monsters in order to build new armour and weapons. But the upcoming movie sounds like a loose adaptation. It will follow a military team sent to investigate a portal by the United Nations. Only when they enter it, they’ll be transported to an alternate world filled with the monsters that made the games famous. Urgh That’s strike one, Paul W.S. Anderson of the “Resident Evil” film series is writing and directing. Strike Two, And he’s reteaming with star and wife Milla Jovovich. Strike 3. On the plus side, there is an impressive supporting cast with Tony Jaa, T.I., and Ron Perlman. Who knows, maybe Screen Gems will have another successful franchise on their hands. But can you guess why this is only 10?

There have already been several successful films based on author Tom Clancy’s works, so another one shouldn’t surprise us. But what makes this project more interesting is how linked to the video game adaptation it is. Ubisoft is partnering with Netflix to bring “The Division” moive to life. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain will star as well as produce. While David Leitch of “Deadpool 2” fame will be directing. The first game focuses on a group of U.S. sleeper agents as they assist during a terrorist-led outbreak of a genetically engineered super-virus in New York City. And with the amount of talent attached, we expect it to be just as thrilling as the games.

Aside from a Telltale spinoff, “Minecraft,” a game about building whatever you want and doesn’t exactly feature a strong plot. Despite this, a feature film adaptation has been in development at Warner Bros. since 2014. It came close to fruition with director Shawn Levy and a set release in 2019. But creative differences with developer Mojang caused Levy to drop out. Several writers and directors later, Warner Bros. has pushed it back to March 4th, 2022 to rework the story with writer/director Peter Sollett. The film will focus on a teenage girl and her band of adventurers as they try to save their world from an Ender Dragon. It may seem strange to make a “Minecraft” movie, but Warner Bros. was able to make Legos work so…

It isn’t often that a video game movie gets a director who’s a fan of the source material. Luckily, the “Metal Gear Solid” movie has Jordan Vogt-Roberts. The “Kong: Skull Island” director has made his passion for the series clear since joining in 2017. He’s even met with (and gotten approved by) series creator Hideo Kojima. The director is teaming with “Kong” writer Derek Connolly, who also penned 2019’s “Detective Pikachu.” And as of December 2019, the draft has been completed. We’ve seen video games be turned into cash grab movies time and time again. But it seems like the legion of passionate fans behind this decades-old action-stealth series can rest easy. Hey at least it can’t be worse that Konami’s last attempt.

With as many games, comics, and animated TV shows this series has received, it’s honestly a little surprising a movie hasn’t been made yet. All in good time. In 2015, 20th Century Fox entered an agreement with Chernin Entertainment and Capcom to bring the blue bomber to the big screen. Two years later, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the same team behind “Paranormal Activity 3” and “Nerve,” were brought on to write and direct. The live-action adaptation was put into jeopardy during the Disney/Fox merger, though Capcom still claims it’s coming. It might be some time before we get any more news about the project. But with other Capcom franchises also being made into movies, it doesn’t seem like they’ll let this go so easily.

Given how 2018’s “Tomb Raider” was one of the more successful video game movies, it shocked absolutely no one when a sequel was greenlit. The first heavily relied on the 2013 reboot of the game series to tell its story. And it left plenty of room for a sequel with the villainous organization known as Trinity. Things will be a bit different behind the scenes, as the writer and director team of Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley will be in charge this time around. Reportedly, the plot will be adapted from elements of both “Rise & Shadow of the Tomb Raider”. And with Alicia Vikander’s fierce performance being the best part of the first movie. With her back, we know Lara Croft is in good hands.

One could argue Capcom’s survival horror series has already received enough film adaptations. However, it could not be argued that those have been faithful, hence my earlier frustration. German production company Constantin Film announced the reboot in 2017 and the project has, surprisingly, moved along relatively smoothly since then. Johannes Roberts signed on to write and direct in 2018. He’s already made a name for himself in mainstream horror with “47 Meters Down” and “The Strangers: Prey at Night.” And since joining this reboot, he has promised it will be scarier and much more faithful to the source material than the previous film franchise. Let’s all hope these aren’t just words to appease hardcore fans.

The Mushroom Kingdom is filled with all the shenanigans, vibrant colors, and kooky characters of a Saturday morning cartoon. And there are few studios we think could translate that to the big screen as well as Illumination. The production was announced in early 2018, though there haven’t been many updates since. Mario’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto will co-produce alongside Illumination’s Chris Meledandri. No story aspects are known as of yet, nor is there a director or cast attached. Nintendo and Illumination are taking their time, with Meledandri stating it might not be out until 2022. We can understand since the series has been adapted into a monumental failure before. But it can’t be any worse than that.

Sony’s “Uncharted” project is the poster child for video game movie development Hell. It’s been in the works since the late 2000s, with David O. Russell attached to direct Mark Wahlberg in the lead role as Nate. Over a decade later, and it has now gone through six directors and been delayed to 2021. Now Tom Holland will play a young Nathan Drake, while Wahlberg will now be playing Sully. Holland’s “Spider-Man” schedule is reportedly to blame for another delay, but Sony is determined to get the project made. Ruben Fleischer is now directing, and his positive relationship with Sony hopefully ensures he’s the last to sign on. Holland also said to IGN that the film will draw inspiration from “Uncharted 4”, not sure how that will wo, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

“Call of Duty” (TBA)

“God of War” (TBA)

“Detective Pikachu 2” (TBA)

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” (TBA)

Of all the video game movies in development, none seem to feel as close to the source material as the upcoming “Mortal Kombat.” The adaptation of the gory fighter will see newcomer Simon McQuoid in the director’s chair but will be produced by James Wan’s Atomic Monster Productions. Given that the series features many horrific creature designs, we’d say this is a match made in movie heaven. The cast is also stacked with veterans of terrific action movies. Joe Taslim will portray Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada will play Scorpion, and Tadanobu Asano will play Raiden, just to name a few. Oh and most importantly, it’s targeting an R-rating over the previously released PG-13 movies. All the building blocks are in place for this to be the best video game movies out there.