Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, is set to help produce the upcoming television adaptation of the Secret World massively multiplayer online game. Although Depp himself will not have an immediate role in the show, he will be an acting producer on the project alongside his sister, Christi Dembrowski, and showrunner Pam Veasey.
Secret World was a somewhat troubled MMO following its 2012 release. Although its Lovecraftian-spin on a modern-day MMO offered a unique blend of puzzling gameplay and fast-paced combat, it never quite gathered the steam of other massively multiplayer games and RPGs. It was later relaunched in 2017 as Secret World Legends to reasonably strong reviews.
Developing the adaptation alongside Depp’s company is G4C Innovation, which optioned the media rights from developer Funcom way back in 2012. G4C’s Gudrun Giddings will also produce the show and was said to be an early proponent of its creation, helping secure the rights to it shortly after the game launched (via Deadline).
“It’s one of the most character-driven and well-developed games I know of and naturally lends itself to fantastical storylines with intriguing characters, a thrilling and binge-worthy international TV show,” she said as part of the announcement.
Although the original Secret World game did receive criticism for certain aspects of its gameplay, the storytelling elements were highly praised. It will be the job of Infinitum Nihil and G4C Innovation to bring those to the small screen.
Depp’s company has previously produced movies in which he has starred, including The Rum Diary, Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger, and Mortdecai. This will be its first TV project and there’s been no word as of yet of Depp being cast in the show.
We do know, however, that the show is being written by James Hart, best known for writing the screenplays for Hook, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Contact. The show will follow the universe of the game, with a team of undercover agents trying to deal with the secretive war between the world’s main factions: the Illuminati, the Dragon, and the Templar.
The question is, will it be any good? Although it’s not exactly the same, games adapted to movies have rarely fared well.
