Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the man who is currently directing a Metal Gear movie adaptation, has discussed his "crazy" ideas for a potential Metroid movie.
Vogt-Roberts' love for video games is pretty obvious - not only is he working on a Metal Gear film, but his latest release, Kong: Skull Island, was littered with video game references, too. In the video below, he talks about how Super Metroid on the SNES played a big part in his life and how he imagines a Metroid movie should be. The discussion starts at around the 10:52 mark.
If you'd rather read what he had to say instead, we have you covered:
“I have a pitch for a Metroid movie. They’ll never let me. It’s too crazy. It legitimately would be [Samus] alone. It would be a little bit of her talking to herself. As soon as they introduce other talking characters in those games, to me it loses everything. You put her alone and it’s almost got more to do with the silence of a movie like Drive. Like the quietness and having it be like a real, intense mood piece, but mixed with sci-fi.”
We know that video game movies have a sad history of being pretty terrible, but Vogt-Roberts' ideas here sound pretty good to us and certainly suit the vibe of the original material. Perhaps if the Metal Gear movie turns out to be great, Nintendo should look into setting this up, turning Samus into a silver screen star.
Would you like to see a Metroid movie one day? Do you like the ideas presented here, or do you have your own take on how it should be? Share your ideas with us in the comments.
[source gamerevolution.com, via youtu.be]
Comments 45
NO !
If the movie hits the silver screen(big screen) I'll check it out and it better be worth $5 bucks along with the super Mario movie, not planning on watching sonic might be to fast for my eyes
It would be a very dull movie.
Contrary to popular belief most video games would make for a very boring movies if adapted straight. Running around a labyrinth and shooting monsters in a video game is fun. Watching some flat character doing the same for 90 minutes isn't.
Yes, please indeed.
I hope that the potential for this is similar to the live action ad of Metroid prime and I hope it gets the similar treatment for when the ad first came out
I don't I think his idea would fit a live action full length movie. Perfect gaming concept, but uncertain cinematic concept. This media transposition needs adaptation (like any other) and it surely kills the original Metroid essence. But who knows, maybe an animated movie? Hey, Netflix, drop some cash into this idea!
No, no, no.
Hollywood has no love left for the art whatsoever. It's bad enough that they're desecrating the Super Mario franchise (AGAIN!) and Pokémon with what will undoubtedly be cinematic abominations.
Now, if Japan were to make the movie, then, sure, I'll bite, but Hollywood can "make love" right off.
I think Metroid if done right would be an amazing movie but the catch is the done right part which I don't think it would be and fan expectations would be sky high and they should be, this is a beloved gaming series countless gamers have grown up with.
It could be done, Samus doesn't have to (and shouldn't) talk much/at all but she could find audio logs or receive distress signals and such so it's not completely void of dialogue.
I think it would work better than Zelda in that regard. The isolation of Samus explains her own silence. Why Link wouldn't be talking in a film full of chatty supporting characters would be confusing and jarring.
It just needs the right director and a studio that's brave enough to trust them and the audience. They do exist, but they are rare.
For what it's worth, this guy gets how a Metroid movie (and the actual game series) SHOULD be. So good luck to him. Like Castlevania, we need more directors/writers/producers that "get it" for games-to-movies.
A Metroid movie should flow kind of like Cast Away with Tom Hanks. A lot of set up in the beginning, establishing the plot and setting and all, extra characters, dialogue, the whole nine and then a big second act where she heads where she has to go, dedicated to that somber exploration feel with Samus sometimes talking to herself while balancing exploring some strange new world (the way she did in Metroid Prime 1) and action set pieces. Then in the end of the third act, bring it all home and come full circle.
At least that sounded good in my head, but there's probably a reason I'm not a filmmaker.
It better be super surreal, atmospheric, and dark just like the Alien movies. The only talking part should be at the beginning and maybe sometime during the encounter with Kraid, Ridley, and perhaps Mother Brain or the many flashback to her past like when she was training with the Chozos. If I see any Call of Duty pop up somewhere in the film then it's garbage so please no military intervention in this.
Cross the vibe of Alien with Gravity and ramp up that claustophobic feeling and you could have a great and potentially quite scary film. But I can't see Nintendo wanting to produce a scary film and, let's be honest, games to films almost never work.
That’s actually a pretty good pitch. This guy seems to understand what makes Metroid great. I can see it working as an indie movie or a movie short, high on atmosphere, low on cast and budget. That way expectations wouldn’t be through the roof.
No, thanks, bye!
Nah a TV series with the Jim Henson company doing the aliens.
If I say it enough perhaps it will happen
@CCore28 an animated adaption could be amazing if it was gritty and retained the mystery that comes with Metroid, but I totally agree, live action will not work
His idea for a movie sounds faithful to the games, so I'm fine with it.
"Alien" functionally hit most of the beats of what a Metroid movie would be. Nintendo has acknowledged this. They included a character named Ridley, for goodness sake.
Metroid is my all time favourite game series and a movie based on it has the potential to be amazing, after all a lot of it's inspiration is from a movie itself. There are a lot of hurdles though one is the muteness of Samus as the director in the article alludes too. We have a talking Samus and we all know how badly that went, short intro and outro monologues only please. The Metroid universe does lend itself to something cinematic and the director here seems to know more about Metroid than Sakamoto does making a movie!
I'm willing to bet that the Metal Gear movie will suck just like every other video game to movie conversion. Therefore please leave Metroid the H alone.
Make a movie. Please, i beg you. Just so i can laugh when it bombs big time!
I’d watch a Metroid movie even if it turned out awful.
I hate when gamers dismiss video game movies.
No one would force you to watch it you complacent nerds.
“Oh noez hollywoodz ruins myz Metroidzzzzz.”
Give me a break.
Let’s see how the Metal Gear film turns out first.
Interesting. Metroid has so much potential for everything.
I’ve always wondered why Nintendo never farms out its properties to animation studios that are fans to start with.
A Netflix Metroid Anime in the style of Voltron, a Zelda series along the lines of Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Please let him do that!
@Anti-Matter WHY NOT?
If there ever was a Metroid movie, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I'm sick of all these live action adaptations of animated shows and video games, they almost always turn into absolute abominations, with the rare case of it being alright, but not great either.
In terms of this Metal Gear movie, I think it may have a rare chance of actually being good to some degree, but we'll see.
But I don't trust anyone with a live action Metroid movie, just no.
@Matthew010
Just look who is the director and from what franchise he worked.
Well, mostly quiet movies don't work well these days. I saw that one with Daniel Radcliffe and the lady in the black dress apparition. Don't remember what it's called atm. I could see what they were trying to do and from a book perspective it would have worked well, since the bulk of the dialogue would have been in thought. But the tension wasn't conveyed properly.
So no thanks friend.
@shaneoh
That would be great! The Hensons made some truly awesome and creepy muppets.
@LUIGITORNADO
Not all of us do.
I think the first Mortal Kombat is a really fun action movie.
The Silent Hill movie was awesomely creepy.
The first Street Fighter a hilariously campy cheesefest.
Wreck it Ralph was cute.
And my kid loves the Pokemon movies. I have a soft spot for Rise of Darkrai and Temple of the Sea.
I for one, would love a big budget Zelda movie in the same vein as great fantasy films like Willow, or Never-ending Story.
But you can't blame us for that attitude either. Alot of vg movies really do suck.
Whoa!.........they're making a Metal Gear movie? When did that happen?
@Tempestryke I liked Rise of Darkrai, too. Hadn't followed the Pokemon Anime since Hoenn, but it still entertained me.
@BionicDodo Gravity is a good example of the type of feel to go for. A strict POV from one character on a mission where the experience of being there is the focus.
Sounds like how I've envisioned a Metroid movie (back when I was in film school), with effects aiming for a grounded realism to start and the ability for the audience to be fascinated with the environments and the aliens and survival and the Chozo interactions and reveals as it goes.
The key problem to work out is how to engage in the core of Samus as the main character. What arc is this going on. I remember going down this path a little with a short treatment and I was circling around the terror of letting this alien tech integrate with her through the armor and the relationship to the Chozo and retaining her own self throughout it... Don't remember completely.
Anyway, I don't know how good this guy is, but I like his basic approach, and I always felt the same way he did. There are some "right" ways to do this in film, but getting it green lit seems like a crazy risk that no studio would take on.
@Anti-Matter Just because he worked with Metal Gear doesn't mean he's a bad man. I'm sure some of Nintendo's famous developers have worked on dark, gritty franchises before.
Hel yeah! Sign me up for this movie. I would be equally hyped as i am for the Marvels Avengers movie. if they start making one.
back in the days when i was younger and a Guyver fan, sometimes i pretendet it to be Metroid (samus) lol! So a actual movie would be so bad-as!
@Matthew010 yeah but MGS is a “mature” franchise so it’s like the devil to him, and anyone who touches it is impure or something. It’s like he doesn’t know Nintendo also makes games like Eternal Darkness.
If you want a more sensible reply or just want to keep your sanity, I advice you don’t delve too deep in this kind of conversations with him. Just a piece of advice for you not to make the same mistakes as me, but by all means do whatever you want mate 😄
Have a good day/night!
@clvr I try these conversations quite frequently and sometimes I get okayish answers that mske some tiny amount of sense.
EDIT: In other conversations I have with him, he does seem like a nice guy. You just need to get to know him.
@Matthew010 oh don’t get me wrong, he is a nice person! I don’t have any hard frelings towards him, He’s just a bit too stubborn to engage a constructive dialogue with and that gets on my nerves, that’s all.
@Spectra I mean, the guy literally said that he wouldn't put any extra characters in the movie. It wouldn't be like Other M.
And personally i really dislike the mindset that a video game movie can't work... just because it's based off a video game.
The reason why many (or all) video game movies suck is because of one of the following reaons:
1. The movie is misdirected, bad decisions are made that make any bad movie a bad movie. This isn't exclusive to video game movies, this applies to MANY modern films that are displayed on theaters. If the movie has bad acting, horrible CGI or terrible writing, then it's going to suck, regardless if it's based off a video game or not.
2. The video game it's based off doesn't translate well into the medium. A movie, in order to be good, needs to have a compelling universe and engaging characters. When the movie is based off a video game, or for that matter, anything, it's limited to the rules of the universe of that. That's why, for example, a movie based on Pong can't work. For characters we have two squares, for a universe we have another square, for a situation these characters confront we have a ball that bounces. Now try to work with that into a 90-minute video.
We have many examples of games that could translate into a movie. Those generally have everything a movie needs: A compelling universe and engaging characters. Sometimes even the art style could stay the same.
Heck, even the Sonic movie doesn't have to be bad. It'll probably be, because it seems to be misdirected (Movie is not suitable for kids, live-action), but the games already have a universe to work with, and throughout the series we have characters that have reached their peak in terms of being engaging. And the movie doesn't necessarely need to copy everything, what is bad can be changed.
Now the question is, if video game movies don't need to be bad, then why in the heck all of they are? First off, not all of those movies are bad, there are a few examples of movies that range from average to decent. Other than that though, all i can say is... it's just a horrible coincidence. Sounds lame, but really that's it. It just so happens that most of those people that direct video game movies just care about the money, that's why so many of them suck. All of what i'm trying to say here is that they don't have to suck, it's just that most of the time they do.
As for Metroid, we have seen examples of Alien movies that tend to be successful, pretty sure it can work with Samus's games, a few changes may be necessary, but the idea can certainly work if executed right.
I think a Metroid movie could work but it would have to try hard to distance itself a bit from its inspiration (alien )
I think the first silent hill movie is fantastic and the second is still enjoyable (tho a bit of a muddled mess by trying to do its own thing and a copy of the 3rd game) - this is speaking as a huge silent hill game fan who has beat every game (including arcade!)
Also prince of Persia was a good family action film. No issues with that one either tbh. (not great just good family, action fun)
I am hoping metal gear movie would be good. (kong skull island was fantastic!)
@clvr I understand. He does seem to have one singular opinion.
If she talks to herself people are going to moan: But its Other M. Lol!
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