Call of Duty publisher Activision has just announced that they will be working with Paramount to adapt the video game mega-shooter into a blockbuster film franchise that is, “designed to thrill its massive global fan base.” They went on to share that it would be a live-action movie based on one of the most popular gaming franchises of all time, but there are concerns about its adaptability.
Recent game-to-film adaptations like Minecraft, Sonic, and Mario already have a baked in audience of younger viewers who are not terribly discerning about the quality of the content, so much as the enjoyment of seeing the worlds and characters they love brought to the big screen. The same could be said for many Call of Duty fans, as year after year, millions of players continue to shell out their hard-earned cash for what essentially boils down to a re-skinning of the previous year’s iteration. We’ve gotten Nuke Town about 6 different times now!
Either way, unless the studio plans to follow the plot of one of the individual series within the franchise such as the story of Task Force 141 in Modern Warfare or attempt to tackle the unnecessarily evolving complexities of the Black Ops series, any attempt to create a fresh narrative within the universe will simply feel like any other war film. With that said, many of the most popular scenarios in the fan-favorite campaigns were ripped straight from already popular films like The Rock, Black Hawk Down, and Enemy at the Gates among likely dozens of other “inspirations.”
Paramount CEO David Ellison said, “As a lifelong fan of Call of Duty this is truly a dream come true.” Going on to share that he has previously spent “countless hours” playing games in the franchise, and that bringing them to theaters is, “an honor and a responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”
Activision president Rob Kostich said that the movie would try and use the same imagination seen in the games to, “create an unforgettable blockbuster movie experience that our community loves, and one that also excites and inspires new fans of the franchise,” so I hope you’re ready to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles team up with WWE wrestlers, Beavis and Butthead, and a bunch of special forces operators to take down whomever the most affordable A-list actor is at the time.
There have already been 23 main games in the series, with many being set in different time periods, areas of operation, and global conflicts, allowing for the chance at a truly interesting historical fiction piece, as the original trilogy presented. However, I have a feeling that Michael Bay will quickly become attached to the project, they’ll give everybody rocket boots and laser guns, and they’ll blow a bunch of stuff up. I really hope they can figure it out better than that, but I have lost so much hope in this once-beloved franchise that helped shape my interest in first-person gaming so many years ago.
Paramount publicly stated:
“Under this milestone partnership, Paramount will develop, produce, and distribute a live-action feature film based on Call of Duty, designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences. Both companies are committed to honoring the brand’s rich narrative and distinctive style, promising an authentic and exciting experience for longtime fans and newcomers alike.”
The games have sold hundreds of millions of copies and are universally known. I don’t know what new audience they may be seeking outside of non-gamers, but most of those folks will likely not have a keen interest in something adapted from video game source material. Then again, I know a lot of fans of Fallout, The Last of Us,and The Witcher shows, who had never even heard of the games. I just hope they actually handle the project with care, make it gritty, make it funny, make it heartfelt, and ground it in the tactical realism and historical context that made the franchise beloved in the first place.
