Metal Gear Solid adaptation announced with Avi Arad producing

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Fans of the METAL GEAR SOLID videogame series may have cause to rejoice as it was announced at the Metal Gear Anniversary event in Tokyo that a feature film was in the works with uber-producer Avi Arad for Columbia Pictures. 

“For many years I fought to bring comics to theaters,” said Arad, appearing onstage with Kojima. “Comic books are now biggest genre in cinema,” he continued. “Video games are the comic books of today.”

The VP of Konami, Hideo Kojimo, confirmed as much during a presentation at the event, even elaborating on potential stars for the film, including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Hugh Jackman.  He was also sure to note that Christopher Nolan was his favorite director.

“We’ll tell these actors and directors who you want, and maybe they’ll do it for nothing,” said Arad, who also gave a broad view of how they intended to approach the lengthy series as a feature.  “We will take our time and tell the story with all the nuances, ideology, cautionary tales needed, ” he said.

This isn’t the first rodeo for METAL GEAR SOLID, as producer Michael De Luca attempted to bring the series to the big screen as well, ultimately ending in a stalemate with Konami and the studio.  The MGS series has been around since 1998, churning out a string of successful games that have defined the “stealth” genre.

With Arad on board, this project may well have a “solid” chance of making it to the big screen, but I still have my doubts.  The producer is known for blowing a lot of hot air and this could very well be another gust, especially since no talent is yet attached, let alone a script completed.  It would definitely be cool to see the series brought to life, but don’t mark your calendars just yet.

More as this develops.