Video games have been headed to the big screen with increasing frequency lately, but the small screen isn’t shying away from game adaptations either.
Paramount Pictures and Anonymous Content recently announced plans to bring the Battlefield franchise to television with Academy Award winner Michael Sugar attached as one of the project’s producers. There’s no word on what form the series will take at this point, only that the two studios — which also produced the recent television series Mr. Robot and True Detective — have picked up the rights to the Electronic Arts franchise with plans to turn it into a TV series.
“EA’s Battlefield has an incredibly dynamic narrative, coupled with a loyal fan base, which will allow us to bring this exciting and unique property to the small screen,” said Paramount TV president Amy Powell in a statement accompanying the announcement. “We look forward to working with EA and Anonymous Content and thank Michael Sugar for his tenacity in bringing us this exciting project.”
The Battlefield franchise debuted in 2002 with Battlefield 1942, which went on to spawn 11 subsequent major releases and more than a dozen expansions and other add-on and spinoff content. The first-person military shooter franchise boasts a fan base of more than 60 million players, and is best known for its focus on broad map strategies, teamwork, and the use of vehicles for its highly competitive online multiplayer battles.
“Battlefield is one of the most loved properties among our players,” said Patrick Söderlund, EA’s executive vice president. “We are thrilled that Anonymous Content and Paramount TV will look to introduce fans to Battlefield through a new medium.”
Despite the well-documented failure of game adaptations for television or the big screen, fans of the franchise could certainly do a lot worse than Anonymous Content and Paramount when it comes to studios interested in bringing a game to the screen.
“Together with EA and Paramount TV, we’ll develop the Battlefield TV series with the same commitment to robust storytelling that has made the game such a runaway success for nearly 15 years,” Sugar said.
There’s currently no official timetable for the development of the Battlefield series that’s been announced.
