For years, players have lamented the fact that the Metal Gear Solid games have behaved more and more like movies. Well, they can lament no more! Today, it was announced that Sony is finally (ground) zeroing in on a director for the first installment of the saga of Solid Snake.
Splinter Cell Movie Will Tell The Origin of Sam Fisher
Deadline reports that Sony is in talks for Jordan Vogt-Roberts to helm the start of what would doubtlessly be a franchise. Vogt-Roberts previously helmed the coming of age drama The Kings of Summer, about a group of teenagers who build a cabin in the woods and discover life. While I am sure the man has the artistic chops for the project, Metal Gear is a very melodramatic film after all, one wonders if the choice was made not necessarily for the director's vision, but rather his ability to be controlled by the studio in general, and Hideo Kojima in particular. The last indie director who broke onto the big blockbuster scene was Marc Webb, who helmed the poorly received Amazing Spider-man films.
Kojima created the Metal Gear series back in 1987 for the MSX and then reinvented it as the popular and cinematic Metal Gear Solid for the original Playstation a decade later. It follows the exploits of master spy and soldier Solid Snake as he confronts enemies both foreign and familiar. Since then, the series has gotten large and expansive, filled with prequels, flashbacks, flash forwards and even features one dude who is possessed by another dude's arm. It's all the best and worst of video game storytelling and it is utterly perfect for the big screen.
Metal Gear: Ground Zeroes Is Selling Big!
There has been no additional movement on the story, nor has a scriptwriter been hired (should it wind up not being Kojima). I do not envy's Vogt-Robert's position, he will be under the microscope from the start. Should he be chosen for the job, his first big decision will be the casting of Solid Snake. Sadly, we do not possess time travel and cannot retrieve an Escape From New York era Kurt Russell, upon whom the character was originally created.
With the Grimm catalogue nearly exhausted and people growing weary of superheroes, studios are looking to jump start the video game movies. Several attempts have been attempted, but when your most enduring title is the mid-90's Mortal Kombat film, you are swimming against the tide. Ubisoft is hoping to produce several of their titles into films, such as Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs. Meanwhile, Doug Liman and Tom Hardy are already taking over the stealth game movie adaptation with Splinter Cell.
The film is still many years out at the earliest, but Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is upon us soon! Check out the trailer below, and stick with GameNGuide for more on all things Metal Gear.
