Despite the major failures of the past, and the potential major failures of the future, the film industry still apparently wants to turn every video game they can get their hands on into a movie. The Sonic The Hedgehog movie is coming next year (whether we like or not), and there's both an Uncharted and Gears Of War movie on the way as well.
One project we haven't heard a lot about lately is the rumored Metal Gear Solid movie. The film was announced over a decade ago, but to this day, it hasn't even begun to prepare to go into production. Even though it does have people behind it, we've been waiting for quite some time to see those giant nuke-spewing walking tanks on the big screen.
So, what's the holdup, and should we even be excited about a Metal Gear Solid movie?
The Case For A Metal Gear Solid Film
Metal Gear Solid is a series that has always had a cinematic flair. Hideo Kojima is a massive fan of film-making, and as a result, the Metal Gear games under his direction were always big productions. They were often chock full of plot twists, character developments, and other things you might find in a blockbuster movie. And of course, since this is Kojima we're talking about, they also had vampires, cyborgs, fire whales, psychic powers, messages about the folly of nuclear war, and horses who could poop on demand.
But beyond that, this is a series that's had some of the most memorable scenes in gaming history. From the first game alone we have the death of Sniper Wolf, the revelation that Gray Fox killed Naomi's parents followed by his sacrifice, and the harrowing torture scene just to name a few. That's not even going into the other games, which include rescuing child soldiers, the fight with the Boss, the microwave hallway, etc. This is a series filled with huge emotional moments, and many of them could easily translate to the big screen.
Kept You Waiting, Huh?
We first started hearing about the Metal Gear Solid movie all the way back in 2006. Hideo Kojima himself made the announcement, and there were some shockingly big names interested in the film. At one point it was even rumored that Christian Bale was going to be Solid Snake, although that looks doubtful now.
By 2010 it seemed like the project was dead in the water, as production had stalled, and the budget had been cut. Miraculously, the film appeared to be saved from the fires of production hell, and will be produced by both Sony Pictures Entertainment and Columbia Pictures.
As of today, we do know who will direct the film, and who is currently writing it.
The Crew Behind The Gear
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts will be the one behind the camera, and unlike some of the dubious members of the Gears Of War film crew, Vogt-Roberts actually has pretty solid credits to his name.
He was the director of The Kings Of Summer, a coming of age teenage comedy that got pretty solid reviews, and currently sits at a respectful 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. He also directed Kong: Skull Island, several episodes of the critically acclaimed sitcom You're The Worst, and will be behind the pilot episode of the upcoming Walking Dead spin-off. Overall, a pretty decent career.
Plus, on top of all that, he also seems to be a legitimate fan of Metal Gear Solid. He's often talked about wanting to embrace the weirdness of the series, and seems devoted to keeping the film faithful to the source material. Even Kojima himself has declared that he would want no one other than Vogt-Roberts to be in the director's chair. That's pretty strong praise, and a pretty good person to be helming the movie.
As for the writers, Derek Connelly is writing the most recent draft. His career includes credits like Kong; Skull Island (which Vogt-Roberts also directed), Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and interestingly enough, Detective Pikachu. It's a bit of a hit and miss selection of films, but considering he has experience both with writing video game movies and working with Vogt-Roberts, the creative team behind the film seems pretty solid enough for Solid Snake.
Who Shall Don The Bandana?
The biggest question right now though is who's going to be Snake? It probably won't be Christian Bale, but one big-name actor has stepped up to claim the role.
Oscar Isaac, the star of the most recent Star Wars films, as well as Ex Machina, Annihilation, and the upcoming Dune adaptation, has thrown his hat into the ring to play the lead in a Metal Gear movie. As Poe Dameron, he's already played a daredevil who plays by his own rules, plus he's done some spy films, like Body Of Lies, in the past. He's a big enough name to play the role and a very talented actor, so he could easily slip into the comfy mullet and bandana combo of Snake.
It also doesn't hurt that Vogt-Roberts seems to be very into the idea, so it could very well happen.
Can The Weirdness Of Metal Gear Work As A Movie?
So, obviously Hollywood can make a Metal Gear Solid movie, but the big question is: should they make a Metal Gear Solid movie? The Metal Gear series is pretty dense, filled with lore, political allegories, unexplained supernatural phenomenon, and a whole lot of kooky characters that may not translate to film so easily.
For example, how does someone like Psycho Mantis work on the big screen? You can't plug your movie ticket into the second controller port, so how do you mess with the film's audience in a similar manner? Also, how do you handle someone who's got as complicated of a backstory as Revolver Ocelot? What about Sniper Wolf? You have to make her sympathetic, but at the same time make it make sense that Snake has to kill her. Easier to do that in a video game than a big summer blockbuster.
The movie is in the hands of a director who wants to bring all the weirdness of the games into the movie, so it's possible that he won't shy away from the more silly or outright bizarre elements of the Metal Gear series. For Metal Gear to not just be another boring, generic spy thriller, it is definitely going to need that weirdness to stand out. The Metal Gear tank needs to roar like a dinosaur, Otacon needs to be just as awkward in real life as in the game, and you better believe that there needs to be a scene were Johnny Sasaki needs to desperately go to the bathroom at some point
If Vogt-Roberts is able to truly get a strange Metal Gear Solid movie out into theatres, it may finally be the film that breaks the video game movie curse.
And Now We Wait...
We haven't gotten much info about the production, but Vogt-Roberts is still attached, and another draft of the script is currently being written. Even though this project has been in and out of production for over 13 years, films can often get caught in long development cycles that can take several years, maybe even decades. Therefore, it's hard to say when we'll even see a trailer, but considering the film has come back into the public eye due to Oscar Isaac's desire to be Snake, perhaps we may get something sooner than we think.
Whenever the film releases, we can only hope that Vogt-Roberts' vision is exactly what a Metal Gear Solid movie should be. We need the weirdness along with the action for this to be a faithful adaptation, and the wacky characters of FOXHOUND need to be on that screen in all their glory. It's hard to say whether or not Kojima is in any way creatively involved with the movie considering his bad blood with Konami, but you have to figure that Vogt-Roberts probably has him on speed dial in case he needs some advice from the master himself.
Will this finally be that fabled "good video game movie" that we've all been waiting for? We won't know for a long while, but if Snake doesn't hide in a cardboard box at least once, then we can probably add Metal Gear Solid to the pile of video game movie failures.