Hollywood has tried its luck several times to turn beloved video game franchises into movies – until now, the success of these productions was limited at best. It may have something to do with the expectations of the games’ fans or the filmmakers’ inability to transpose the often rich lore of the games on the silver screen in a limited time. Aside from the long-running “Resident Evil” franchise, very few game-based movies have become memorable. And when it comes to TV series based on video game franchises, the list is even shorter. Aside from a short-lived adaptation of “Mortal Kombat” and the so-far pretty short-lived “Castlevania” anime series over at Netflix are the only two to come to mind.
Not that the games based on movies and TV shows would fare better. Aside from a handful of slot machines based on some classic movies and TV series, built by some of the best casino game developers listed at www.gamblinginsider.ca. These are traditionally very popular, long-running games that fans often return to.
Video games are often not the best source material for movies. For one, they are popular – after all, failed games are hardly ever adapted to the silver screen – and they have devoted fans, meaning that they will find every little flaw in the visuals and story of the movie and point all their fingers at everyone from screenwriters to producers. On the other hand, many video games have too much lore for a two-hour movie, so no matter how much material the producers leave in, they will always have to cut way too much for it to be truly good. This is perhaps why the better format for a production based on a video game would be that of a (TV) series.
One of the first productions related to video games – not truly ‘based on’ in this case – is Netflix’s upcoming “The Witcher”. While not entirely a series based on a video game – it’s adapted from Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels – it would be a mistake not to recognize CD Projekt’s role-playing game adaptation of the same title in turning it from a decent fantasy novel series into a highly popular brand around the world. The Witcher saga currently consists of five novels and several short stories, providing enough events (and lore) for the series to go on for many seasons. Hopefully, it will after this fall’s first.
Another story that’s long overdue for a screen production is Halo, the Microsoft-exclusive video game franchise. Several movie shorts have been produced to tie into the story of the game but there was no standalone story set in its universe – and there won’t be until at least next year. The news about the new series coming to Showtime has broken last summer – it will be a 10-episode limited series at first, and if it’s successful… well, who knows? There is certainly enough material to work with (the Halo universe is huge), and the creative talent running the show, Kyle Killen, has already proven his worth. The series is expected to enter production this year, which means that it will likely hit the screens early in 2020.
The popularity of serialized content, as well as the many streaming services that have emerged lately, will probably lead to many more adaptations coming in the future. Hopefully, they will take their time and develop the stories better than the many failed video game movies have in the past.