Movies based on video game franchises don’t have a great track record, but that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from trying to translate gaming success to the big screen. Sony Pictures is making the latest attempt by hiring Jurassic World and Kong: Skull Island screenwriter Derek Connolly to pen the script for a Metal Gear Solid movie.
Connolly will reunite with Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts on the adaptation of the Metal Gear franchise, according to Variety. A June 2014 report said Vogt-Roberts was the studio’s leading contender to helm the project. There haven’t been any significant updates on the adaptation since that report, so Vogt-Roberts is apparently still attached to bring the wildly successful game franchise to the big screen.
Created by Hideo Kojima, the Metal Gear franchise began with a 1987 game in which players took control of a special forces operative code-named “Solid Snake.” His mission was to discover more information about a weapon of mass destruction housed in a secret military facility in South Africa. The critically acclaimed series became known for its creative use of stealth strategy in gameplay and long cinematic cut scenes. It went on to include more than 20 subsequent installments that explored both the early years and later adventures of Solid Snake and other supporting characters.
In 1998, Metal Gear Solid was released for the PlayStation as a sequel to Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and went on to become one of the most popular games of all time. The game’s story found Solid Snake once again infiltrating a secret base to uncover information about the latest version of the deadly “Metal Gear” weapon, but this time he found himself up against rogue members of his former special forces unit.
A movie based on the franchise has been in development since 2006, with various writers, directors, and lead actors attached or rumored to be involved. Spider-Man franchise producer Avid Arad will produce the Metal Gear Solid movie, which he described as “a huge, biblical story” in 2014 while promoting The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Connolly’s next project is the Jurassic World sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which hits theaters June 22, 2018. There’s no word on when Metal Gear Solid is expected to begin production.
