10 Upcoming Video Game Adaptations That Might Actually Be Good

(SPOT.ph) For those keeping score: we've now had three different shots at a Mortal Kombat feature, two different iterations of Lara Croft's Tomb Raider, a Prince of Persia film starring Jake Gyllenhaal for some reason, and seven whole Resident Evil movies as just the tip of the video game adaptations iceberg. With this week's debut of the Resident Evil live-action series on Netflix, we thought we should look ahead to see what other interesting projects based on popular video games are coming up, and which of them look—at the bare minimum—worthy of our time. 

Also read: 10 Exciting Drops Every Gamer Should Watch For in 2022

Here are 10 upcoming video game movies and series that have the potential to be good:

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Series)

Release date: September 2022

Set in a lawless, futuristic city owned by corporations, Cyberpunk 2077 was arguably the most anticipated action-RPG release of 2020… before it actually dropped and was hit with a flood of criticisms over its insanely glitchy gameplay. We don’t have to worry about that with the upcoming Netflix anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a spin-off about mercenaries and other shady characters with body modifications who rule the streets. Based on the trailer, the 10-episode series looks like quite the vibe through a techno capitalist hell. At least this one (probably) won’t be literally unplayable.

The Witcher: Blood Origin (Series)

Release date: 2022 (Most likely December)

Okay, cheat code, we know. The Witcher games and The Witcher Netflix series are based on the same book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, so it’s not technically a “video game adaptation,” we know. Don’t sick Henry Cavill on us. However, we see the series enriching our experiences of the games when we put them on, and vice versa, so we’re making an exception for this list. Plus, come on, the prequel series looks just like the sort of high fantasy filmmaking we need right now. Like, Michelle Yeoh as a warrior-elf? We’re tossing a coin to that.

The Last of Us (Series)

Release date: Early 2023

The Last of Us. A tale where a burnt-out, cynical old man learns to find hope as he’s paired with a snappy young girl on a cross-country journey through a parasite-infested America. Not exactly your most original story, even for a video game, but what made The Last of Us stand apart was the perfect blend between cinematic storytelling and immersive, intricate gameplay. It’d be interesting now to see how the upcoming HBO series fares with the gameplay element stripped away from it and them just having to rely on its rather rudimentary drama. Odds are looking good, however, with Game of Thrones actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey portraying the main duo Joel and Ellie. If the Philippines can’t have the Disney+ series about Pascal taking care of Baby Yoda, then we’ll absolutely take this one instead.

Untitled Mario movie 

Release date: April 7, 2023

In 2021, Nintendo broke the internet with four words: Chris Pratt is Mario. Ever since, we’ve been trying to figure out what exactly that would even sound like. Chris Pratt. Italian plumber. There have been many sleepless nights because of this. Anyway, this Mario animated film at least seems fun, with the voice cast including Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, among many other talented comedians. We’ll be there opening night, with the whole gang in suits, of course.

Borderlands (Movie)

Release date: Most likely 2023

The space Western video game Borderlands is perhaps most well-known for its off-kilter gunplay, irreverent humor, and comic book-like art style. Now, we’re getting a live-action movie starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black filling in these roles of outer space mercenaries. We’d normally be worried that a property this colorful can only be drained of life by a live-action adaptation, but the film will be directed by hyper-violent horror film director Eli Roth. Now, it's possible that we could have on our hands the trashiest video game adaptation to hit the big screen, so we’re looking forward to it immensely.

Fallout (Series)

Release date: Most likely late 2023

Along with The Elder Scrolls, Fallout is video game developer Bethesda’s pride and glory. The games take place in the post-apocalyptic 22nd and 23rd centuries, where the world has been turned into a retrofuturistic wasteland after a nuclear war destroyed most of civilization. The survivors? Just the worst people you’d want to come across. Rather fitting, as Walton Goggins and Kyle MacLachlan have been cast in central roles on the Amazon series, which has Jonathan Nolan as one of its creators. Could we expect a mind-bending drama a la Westworld, or an insane survival series a la Mad Max: Fury Road? We can’t say for sure, but that’s part of the fun. We’ll have our “Everyone disliked that.” and “Everyone liked that.” memes ready for when the episodes drop.

Minecraft (Movie)

We weren’t surprised at all when it was announced that a Minecraft film was in development. One of the most popular video games of all time? Yeah, we expected that’d drop, like, years ago. Further news came out that Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess would helm the feature and Jason Momoa would star, and we thought, “sounds like a cool animated movie. Hopefully, it’s like The LEGO Movie.” Then, it was revealed that the film would be live-action… now, we were hooked. We have no idea how this is going to play out. Will it be a hybrid where Momoa is the only live-action element in the world of blocks, or vice-versa? Will the movie pay tribute to custom maps and modding? We’re probably going to spend many sleepless nights thinking about this too. 

Metal Gear Solid (Movie)

Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid is the game that popularized the stealth genre in gaming. It’s unbelievable we got two Hitman films before our first jab at a Metal Gear Solid film. Like, Solid Snake is almost quite literally a direct adaptation of Kurt Russell’s action hero Snake Pliskenn from Escape From New York. There’s a ripe opportunity there. In 2020, it was reported that everybody’s favorite actor with hot “substitute teacher” vibes Oscar Isaac would be playing Solid Snake in a Metal Gear Solid film adaptation. There has been no further news since then, and every passing day has got us thinking, “why are we still here? Just to suffer?” a la Kaz in Phantom Pain.

Ghost of Tsushima (Movie)

Set during the first Mongol invasion of Japan in the 13th Century, Ghost of Tsushima follows Jin Sakai, a samurai and the last remaining member of his clan. When his home is invaded by the Mongols, Jin is left for dead and his uncle is captured by the Mongols. However, he survived and is on a singular path of vengeance. Rather fitting that the recently announced Ghost of Tsushima live-action adaptation will be directed by John Wick director Chad Stahelski. We absolutely cannot wait to see what Stahelski does with swords and the samurai genre, after he revolutionized the action genre with John Wick. Another brutal, action-tragedy incoming!

Bioshock (Movie)

Finally, we have an upcoming Netflix adaptation of BioShock. Considered to be one of the best video games of all time, BioShock is an action-survival horror set in the underwater, 1960’s city of Rapture. In it, the protagonist tries to escape the desolate city filled with killer robotic defenses, psycho humans hooked on ADAM (a drug that gives them superhuman abilities), and… Big Daddies. We are not going to explain what Big Daddies are. Details are still scarce on the Netflix adaptation, given how recent it was announced, but we’re so glad it’s finally happening. BioShock has always been a series with interesting visual aesthetics and heavy philosophies to unpack. So naturally, we’re assuming Netflix is gonna get Zack Snyder to direct this film.

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