A New Hope
With the cost of blockbuster movie-making skyrocketing, studios are averse to innovation. They prefer to hang back, playing it safe until sure bets come their way. As soon as somebody flips a video game movie into a billion dollar profit, the industry will start shifting resources into the genre — think of how original programming on streaming services exploded after House of Cards proved successful.
Pre-existing franchises are one area where Hollywood feels comfortable placing bets. With Mario, GLaDOS, and even Grand Theft Auto’s gang of anti-heroes so ingrained in pop culture, studios will only grow more comfortable mining the video game movie wastelands for cinematic gold. After all, gaming has become so mainstream that non-gamers can pick Sonic the Hedgehog and Master Chief out of a Usual Suspects-style pop culture lineup.
Throughout the 90’s, the mainstream viewed video games as nerdy toys for children and slack-jawed adults. When Super Mario Bros. hit theatres, the series’ mythology was in its infancy and its popularity was still on the rise (Nintendo consoles launched stateside in 1985). In 2016, video games have become a cornerstone of mainstream culture. An entire generation of adults has grown up on a steady diet of Nintendo and PlayStation — many of whom possess the knowledge of living, breathing Metal Gear and Zelda wikis.
The entertainment industry is loaded with actors, writers, directors and producers who spent their formative years hooked on Mario Kart, GoldenEye 007 and Halo. Rest assured these content creators have chips on their shoulders over the lousy movies representing their sacred pastime. Combine the passion of influential life-long gamers with the support of a major studio and suddenly the concept of a great video game movie isn’t such a stretch.
Directors Duncan Jones (Warcraft) and Justin Kurzel (Assassin’s Creed), each received budgets exceeding $150 million to make their video game movies. Whether or not these films ultimately succeed at the box office, they’re evidence that studios are now willing to spend blockbuster-level money, and in the case of Jones, hire geek-friendly directors. Whether it’s Warcraft (which, admittedly, is looking like a bit of a bomb), Assassin’s Creed, or a film not yet on our radars, it won’t be long before someone finally cracks the elusive video game movie code.