I've never been much of a video game guy. Too many movies to watch, too little time. But that said, I did play the hell out of DUKE NUKEM as a kid. I found it to be utterly delightful as it was way too grown up for me at the time, but my parents didn't monitor video games so it was a free-for-all! And thus, I'm always excited when I hear news about a possible DUKE NUKEM feature film – and this time it looks like it's actually going to happen! But we'll see… Anyhow, today Variety reports that ASSASSIN'S CREED producer Jean-Julien Baronnet has joined the project with Gearbox Software.
It was announced earlier this year that Gearbox was working with Paramount and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, on the movie – which is set to star John Cena – but now it seems that Paramount is out of the deal. No word on whether or not Platinum Dunes is still on board.
Gearbox’s Sean Haren said this about the character:
He’s a parody of 1980s action heroes and he’s like Deadpool in terms of being able to break the fourth wall. We see a lot of humor in his confronting the values of today while trying to save the world.
Producer Baronnet added:
Duke is exactly the kind of very blunt character that we need in the world today.
DUKE NUKEM rundown via Variety:
Duke Nukem first appeared in the 1991 eponymous video game, developed by Apogee Software, as a muscular cigar-chomping man who always wears Ray-Bans and sports a flat-top haircut as he fights aliens to save planet Earth by using enormous physical strength and his expertise in firearms. He’s appeared in 19 video games as the title character, most recently in “Duke Nukem 3D: World Tour.”
Haren and Baronnet have recently been meeting with writers to start prepping a package for a potential adaptation. We'll let you know how all of that goes as time goes on. The fact that this Baronnet fellow produced the ill-received ASSASSIN'S CREED gives me a bit of pause, truthfully. But with the rest of the talent behind the camera and the strength of the character in general, I'm thinking Duke Nukem will make a killer transition to the big screen.
Fingers crossed.