Producer Avi Arad, known to have brought comic book universes to film successfully, is involved in the adaptations of Uncharted, Metal Gear and Mass Effect. He’s got a real good feeling about Nathan Drake.
The ”father and son” dynamic in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted could give it a ”shot at being the first” successful game-to-film project. Metal Gear flick is 3 years away, with Mass Effect about 5 years.
”I think that film studios are bankers and filmmakers are risk takers and somewhere in between we meet on the battlefield,” Avi Arad told Kotaku.
”And the moment one video game movie goes through the roof, it’s the same thing that I’ve been through with comic books.” Major success with Uncharted could mean many more studios are willing to let the actual creators of the universe have greater control, if it means safeguarding an IPs integrating from the game world produces big bucks.
”I think Uncharted will be very successful. It’s a father and son game. There are things about it that are interesting. I think the world of antiquities theft, there are many countries in the world that realised they’re being robbed and they’re trying to recoup these important pieces,” continued Arad.
”Now, the script has a lot of character I think that has a shot at being the first one.”
A great franchise in the gaming world doesn’t mean success at the box office - it must have a solid story. Surely you can’t do better than Metal Gear Solid then? Solid is in the title!
”If you go to Metal Gear Solid, it’s actually full of storytelling,” he said. Arad, as a story teller, always looks to operas or The Bible. ”And with Metal Gear,” he says, ”you have Cain and Abel.” The Metal Gear film is in the very early stages yet and expects it won’t arrive for at least 3 years, depending on communications between studios.
BioWare’s Mass Effect is even further out - a few Mass gates away, if you will.
”It’s a big idea, that we, humans, are the least developed, the least trusted, it’s an interesting mirror image of our world, we are the aliens now,” said Arad. ”Love the project, it’s getting there, it’s been a lot of work; some movies take five, six years before they’re ready.” Arad also mentioned he’s been pitched a Naruto movie.