Video game movies have a turbulent history, with many being absolutely forgettable at the end of the day. Whether it’s the classic Mortal Kombat, Mario, or other titles, there’s a common belief in the “video game movie curse,” or that they are always bad, for a reason. Some recent movies, like Detective Pikachu, break the video game movie curse, while others seem doomed by it (such as Uncharted, which hasn’t had the best public reception thus far and isn’t even out yet).
Nonetheless, video game movies are going nowhere, and according to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, there will be a new one announced this year, in which he stars. Indeed, the legendary WWE wrestler has had quite the career, appearing in several movies since his major wrestling days, supporting the ZOA Energy drinks, and more, but while Black Adam will be his first appearance in a DC movie, he’s been in a few video game such as 2005’s Doom and 2018’s Rampage.
Johnson recently spoke with Men’s Journal about his upcoming titular role in the DCEU movie, but he was also posed a question about his long history with Microsoft and Xbox (he took the stage alongside Bill Gates to reveal the first-ever Xbox and much more). He was asked about “any plans to bring video game characters to the big screen,” and continued to say, “I can’t tell you which game, in particular, we’re doing, but there will be an announcement this year. We’re going to bring one of the biggest, most badass games to the screen—one that I’ve played for years.”
Johnson would continue to say that the movie will do right by gamers, but first and foremost, it’s going to be a great movie. Indeed, as seen with comic adaptations too, a good game adaptation often first has to be a good movie to begin with. Johnson’s words instantly sparked speculation as to what this movie could be, but what this could be is immediately unclear. Everything from the Mass Effect show (which is a show, not a movie as Johnson says) to something for Call of Duty has been thrown out there, but no one can be quite sure.
At the very least, The Rock was candid enough to mention that it would be announced this year. That doesn’t mean it’ll release this year, notably, as the COVID pandemic continues to impact many major aspects of the entertainment world, but fans should get to see what this movie is and who The Rock plays by the end of the year.
Source: Men's Journal