Are video game adaptations Hollywood’s next goldmine?
Photo Courtesy of HBO
Trends tend to come and go rather quickly in the short-attention-span world of easily disposable media which we currently live in. The world of film in particular is an arena that is dependent on creating new trends and concepts that must be followed in order to create a modern-day blockbuster.
In the 2000s and 2010s, it was the art of the classic film remake, including films like 2018’s “A Star is Born” and 2012’s “Red Dawn,” that garnered the attention of audiences looking for a blast of nostalgia and familiarness when they entered the movie theater. Around the same time, the rise of the superhero film dynasty also brought audiences into theaters, creating unfathomable billion-dollar numbers at the box office, catapulting movie revenue to heights the industry had never seen before. As of late, Hollywood may be serving up a new trend in film creation that will bring in audiences of similar, or greater, magnitudes – video game adaptations.
On Sunday, Jan. 15, HBO premiered “The Last of Us,” an adaptation of the 2013 video game of the same name, created for the PlayStation 3. The game had seen great success, selling a whopping 1.3 million copies during its first launch week. The HBO series adaptation of the franchise saw similar success; in its first day after release, the series became the second most watched premiere of an HBO series ever, only being surpassed by 2022’s “House of the Dragon.” It seems fans of “The Last of Us” showed up for their favorite game by watching the first episode of the show (which has stunningly positive reviews across all major outlets), and Hollywood appears to be taking notes.
Before success of shows like “Arcane” (an Emmy-winning animated series based on “League of Legends”), video game adaptations in film and television had been dismissed as unsuccessful. Creators in Hollywood just didn’t seem to understand how to make a smooth transition from the console to the big screen; in the 1990s and 2000s, franchises like “Mortal Kombat” and “Resident Evil” were adapted into film franchises and were promptly torn to shreds by critics and audiences. However, HBO’s premiere success with “The Last of Us” is seemingly a good omen for video game adaptations. Illumination Entertainment and Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros Movie,” slated for release this spring, boasts a star-studded cast featuring Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Pratt, and it is one of the year’s most anticipated animated releases. Even tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons are being adapted into full-on franchises, with the first “Dungeons and Dragons” film scheduled for release on March 31.
So, what possibilities are there for the world of video games in film and television? Well, it’s hard to top video games in terms of lore that could be used for a film. Super complex games like “Skyrim” and “Breath of the Wild” seem like perfect candidates for film and television adaptation when put on paper – hundreds of episode ideas and film concepts spring from the deeply detailed components of video games. Another plus is the built in fanbase that video games already possess; as seen with “The Last of Us,” if an adaptation is marketed well and done right, fans will show up for their favorites.
It seems like, for the first time, Hollywood is finally reaching into the untapped market of video games in a proper way and setting up the path to success for future franchise adaptations. Keep an eye out – you never know when your favorite console game may turn up on the silver screen.
