7 video game adaptations coming to big and small screens soon

Over the years, video game adaptations haven’t had the best reception among big and small screen audiences. From ‘Mortal Kombat’ (1995) and ‘Prince of Persia: Sands of Time’ (2010) to ‘Assassin’s Creed’ (2016) and ‘Alone in the Dark’ (2005), on-screen adaptations have been universally panned and often ridiculed.

But with the advent of streaming platforms, the fortunes of these projects seem to have somewhat turned. The most notable example is Netflix’s wildly popular ‘Witcher’ series, headlined by Hollywood superstar Henry Cavill, which debuted at the tail end of 2019. And ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, while picked apart when first announced, did fairly well at the box office on its release as well. With HBO recently announcing it’s much-awaited adaptation of ‘The Last of Us’ and a live-action version of ‘Monster Hunter’ hitting cinemas this coming weekend, we take a look at the major video game adaptations currently in the works.

Monster Hunter: ‘Resident Evil’ series director Paul WS Anderson reunites with actress-wife Milla Jovovich and Capcom for another video game adaptation — ‘Monster Hunter’, set to hit theatres soon. In the film, an unexpected sandstorm transports Captain Artemis (Jovovich) and her unit (TI Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta) to a new world, and the soldiers are shocked to discover that this hostile and unknown environment is home to enormous and terrifying monsters immune to their firepower. Facing a danger so great it could threaten to destroy their world, the brave warriors combine their unique abilities to band together for the ultimate showdown. The film comes to UAE cinemas on December 3

Resident Evil: Did the world need more ‘Resident Evil’ adaptations? Despite the original spate of movies receiving heavy backlash from hard-core fans, the folks at Netflix are ready to take a new shot at the franchise with a live-action series. The streaming platform announced on August 27, 2020 that the scripted live-action series was in active development helmed by ‘Supernatural’ executive producer and co-showrunner Andrew Dabb. The series will tell a brand new story within the overarching ‘Resident Evil’ canon taking place across two timelines in eight one-hour episodes.

Uncharted: While it’s been over a decade since work began on a movie based on Naughty Dog’s popular ‘Uncharted’ games — during which the film has cycled through seven directors, five release dates, and a series of scripts and actors — the project has finally gained steam over the last couple of months. ‘Spider-Man’ star Tom Holland is set to play a younger version of the game’s lead character Nathan Drake, an intrepid treasure hunter who travels the world in search of historical mysteries. ‘Uncharted’ is set to hit theatres on July 16, 2021. In addition to Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Taylor Ali and Tati Gabrielle star in the film.

Assassin’s Creed: While fans may still not be over the disastrous 2016 ‘Assassin’s Creed’ film (starring Oscar-nominated actors Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons), Netflix recently announced that an “epic, genre-bending” live-action adaptation of Ubisoft’s video game series is currently underway, as they hunt for a showrunner. First launched in 2007, the game franchise explores the war between the rival secret orders of the Assassins and the Templars as they use advanced machines to access the genetic memories of Assassins in different periods of the past to track down powerful artefacts called Pieces of Eden. Additionally, Netflix will also produce an anime and animated series. Since its launch, the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series has sold more than 155 million games worldwide.

Halo: One of the most biggest science fiction video games to hit the market, ‘Halo’ has a rich expanded universe including novels and short films. An upcoming live-action television series based on the video game franchise has begun production. The series will focus on the 26th-century war between the United Nations Space Command and the alien Covenant. The series stars Pablo Schreiber, Natascha McElhone, Charlie Murphy, Jen Taylor, Shabana Azmi, Bokeem Woodbine, Kate Kennedy, Natasha Culzac and Bentley Kalu. It is scheduled to premiere on Showtime in the first quarter of 2021.

Final Fantasy XIV: Sony Pictures Television and Hivemind, the production company behind Amazon’s ‘The Expanse’ and Netflix’s adaptation of ‘the Witcher’, are planning a live-action series based on ‘Final Fantasy XIV’, Square Enix’s flagship Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). While Sony didn’t reveal too many details about the show itself, we know that it’ll be an original story set in Eorzea, the world of ‘Final Fantasy XIV’, and feature franchise fixtures like Chocobos and a character named Cid.

Tom Clancy’s The Division: Netflix has snagged the distribution rights to Ubisoft’s adaptation of ‘Tom Clancy’s The Division’, starring Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal in lead roles. Directed by David Leitch, the new movie will come with a screenplay from Rafe Judkins, who’s also penning and showrunning Amazon’s adaptation of the ‘Wheel of Time’ fantasy novel series. The story is set in the future when a pandemic virus spread via paper money kills millions across New York City. The heartening Christmastime-set story will focus on an attempt by a group of ragtag civilians who are trained to address catastrophes and attempt to shore up what remains of civilisations against its ruins.