Movie adaptations of games don't exactly have the best reputation, and usually for good reason. We've seen recent exceptions like Sonic The Hedgehog – and Mortal Kombat at least looks promising – but historically, a lot of them have turned out terribly. Dynasty Warriors is next in line, and it's arriving on April 30th in China and Hong Kong.
A new trailer promises the large-scale battles Koei Tecmo's hack-and-slash series is known for, covering the Yellow Turban Rebellion that led to the fall of Dong Zhuo. That's quite significant as it's also the opening event for Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the novel Dynasty Warriors is based on.
This adaptation comes with a peculiar development history, too. Many get stuck in development hell – Minecraft and Metal Gear Solid being prominent examples – but Dynasty Warriors actually finished filming in 2017. Despite setting a 2019 release date, it never materialised until now, with no explanation for the delay.
Unlike most adaptations, Dynasty Warriors isn't a Hollywood production either, instead being filmed within Hong Kong by HMV Digital China. As such, there's no word on a Western theatrical release just yet.
Will you watch the Dynasty Warriors film? Let us know down below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 27
This game gets a movie, but not Zelda? Or smash? I could go on
didn't even know there was a film lmao
@1ofUs i really want zelda to have an anime series
That palutena trailer for smash 4 was pretty good, I would have loved a smash, zelda, or kid icarus anime in that style.
Film adaptations would be a lot better if people who make the film actually knew the videogame they're adapting.
@1ofUs I mean Dynasty Warriors looks like movie material given it's also technically derived from real world Chinese history
This doesn't look like anything in the games and I've been playing it since DW2. Where is the slowdown and character pop-up?
On a more serious note, it looks like fun!
@NikHogan It got cancelled, get over it
@1ofUs How would a smash movie looks like?
Besides, what's wrong with dynasty warriors getting a movie?
It's not a huge franchise, but it has potential.
I felt so bad for that lady when that general dude embraced her... smashing her face against his armor. Poor woman.
@Rhaoulos Disney (rightfully) gets a lot of flack, but their biggest successes (Marvel and the Mandalorian) have come when they let talented filmmakers with an encyclopedic love/knowledge of the source material create something special. Get a proven and talented director who loves "X Video Game" and the results will improve with the adaptations. Wreck-It-Ralph is proof of concept... the people who created it treated 8-bit gaming with reverence and the result was spectacular.
@Ryu_Niiyama For those two, it's both in character AND well deserved
@Xenomorth maybe it would be like world of light?
First I've heard of it but it looks good. I watch a lot of those sword & fantasy films - not sure what they're called - but there's a bunch of them.
Getting kind of old for reading tiny subtitles though so I'll wait for the dub.
@Xenomorth wow someone is salty. there was never a zelda anime in development, it was a live action series i had virtually no interest in. i'm just throwing an idea out there
I feel like they should just do an adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms...? I mean, it’s a classic tale for a reason.
The budget for casting extras in this film must have been astronomical.
Hmm, maybe they had to re-film stuff but it was really hard to shoot a fighting scene because of social distancing. (Just pretend that they didn't finish the movie in 2017.)
@Muddy_4_Ever Why do I feel like you are trying to disagree with my comment while confirming everything I said.
I was mainly referring to people like Paul WS Anderson who make random action films and slap a popular game title on it to trick fans of the game into watching his films.
People can say what they want about Marvel, but they did a great job with a restricted number of IP. And Wreck it Ralph is the best film adaptation of arcade games that were never made.
I would watch it, seems like a movie you turn off your brain and enjoy some laughs by the absurdity of it
@Rhaoulos Sorry if it came off as disagreement. I 100% agree with you! I was trying (clumsily) to say that if you take people who are A-talented & B-deeply love the source material, you could have some WONDERFUL video game movie adaptations. Unfortunately, studios have tended to do video game movies on the cheap, hiring hack filmmakers who care not one bit about the properties. They see the video game as built ticket sales from people who like the IP. There's no interest in "doing it right" in terms of fidelity to the game or telling a meaningful story. That's why I noted things like the Mandalorian, Wreck-It-Ralph, Marvel, etc. When people with a creative vision and love of the source material are given free reign, great things can happen. That has not (in the main) occurred with video game movies at all.
I didn't know that Dynasty Warriors was based on a novel. I learned something new today.
I'd probably watch it if the opportunity were available to me.
@NikHogan Oh yeah, sorry I mixed both up.
@1ofUs I dunno, seems like too little material for a full length feature.
@Muddy_4_Ever It has been a vicious circle. They don't put in the money or hire the right people, they produce a turd, the film bombs so the next producer won't put in the money either. I long for the day they get the right people to do the job.
Not many examples of great films that were finished and then sat unreleased for 4 years. I suspect this will be a turd.
At least this will be a better received movie in China than Disney's Mulan remake.
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