The CALL OF DUTY video game franchise has become popular for immersing players in gripping combat scenarios and absorbing stories…and for allowing teens to call each other horrible names over multiplayer mode. But the first bit is what could make for a great movie, and Activision Blizzard Studios is eager to get one going and may have already enlisted a director.
Variety got the exclusive that the studio is in negotiations with SICARIO 2: SOLDADO director Stefano Sollima to direct a movie version of the video game, with Kieran Fitzgerald (SNOWDEN) set to write the script. There are no details about the plot available, nor does the film have a distributor, but Activision Blizzard Studio’s presidents Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk are producing.
We’ve known for some time that a COD movie was looking to be developed, and last April things really kicked off when it was announced that Activision Blizzard was hoping to launch a "Marvel-esque" universe around the series. During that interview with The Guardian last year, Sher said they’ve assembled a group of writers to establish a direction to take the series.
We have plotted out many years…We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you.
The COD games have an intense feel to their stories and action, and by hiring Stefano we can tell they're aiming for something gritty that won't shy away from capturing the horror of combat. But if this movie wants to buck the video game movie curse then it has to focus on a compelling story and rich characters or else it's going to feel like the kind of bland war flicks we've seen a dozen times. Best of luck to the team, but should they fail, they risk being called "noobs" by millions of filmgoers all at once. What hell.
SICARIO 2: SOLDADO is in theaters June 29.