Ubisoft crying Beowulf, raising more Rabbids

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted May 22, 2007 4:46 pm PT

Robert Zemeckis movie tie-in, new Rayman are unveiled at the Ubidays 2007 press event.

Beowulf: Howling at a theater near you this fall.

Ubisoft has revealed two new games at its Ubidays event in Paris. Foremost among these is a game adaptation of the forthcoming computer-animated fantasy Beowulf. The game will reportedly be released alongside the film, which will use the same animation process as Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express, when it hits theaters this November.

Directed by Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Cast Away) and cowritten by famed comic author Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Beowulf is the latest retelling of the medieval legend. Ray Winstone (The Departed) will voice the titular hero, who must do battle with several villains, including Grendel (Crispin Glover). Rounding out the all-star cast are Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, and Angelina Jolie.

Ubisoft executive Alain Corre said the game would be a hack-and-slash action title from the same studio as Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. However, he did not elaborate, meaning Beowulf could be in development at either Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Shanghai, Swedish developer GRIN, or North Carolina-based Red Storm Entertainment. No platforms for the game were announced.

In addition to Beowulf, Ubisoft announced that it is readying a sequel to the cult hit Rayman Raving Rabbids for release this year. Wednesday, the publisher confirmed that the game would be released exclusively for the Wii and DS.

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benjaminjoel
Posted Jun 16, 2007 5:11 pm PT

AWESOME!! More insane rabbid fun without those annoying ports!
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theKSMM
Posted Jun 9, 2007 10:12 pm PT

So the rabbids have been corralled exclusively onto Nintendo platforms now eh? Interesting...
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firebreathing
Posted May 29, 2007 9:31 am PT

I'll have to say that 300 wasn't exactly a "bad"(as in good) movie. It was ok, but did not live up to the hype too much. It seemed like they concentrated more on the CG effects than anything else..........now Gladiator, that was a kick ass movie. As for the Beowulf movie, I hope it'll be NC-17, because i'm not watching some PG-13 movie that's supposed to be violent (Alien Vs Predator anyone?). I don't even bother with that "Let's appeal to the masses by making this movie PG-13 despite the fact that it'll ruin the movie!!"
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Artemios
Posted May 27, 2007 12:15 pm PT

another beowulf movie? The previous one was OK i hope this one is better! I have to say that this is the type of movie that i like, reminds me of lord of the rings a bit.
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jacnewforce07
Posted May 26, 2007 2:55 pm PT

A new Beowulf movie! I'm a true fan of Beowulf so I'm going to have to put that on my schedule!!
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c_mcafee
Posted May 24, 2007 8:04 am PT

Here's hoping they can concentrate on making a successful game instead of concentrating on getting a game out the door as cheaply as possible, so it coincides with the film release.
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CyphenX
Posted May 24, 2007 2:00 am PT

Wow. There is so much talent behind that movie that it looks like it's going to be the next LOTR. The game also looks to have some amazing talent behind it, but still, it's a movie tie-in game, so be wary...
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jakob_187
Posted May 23, 2007 7:40 pm PT

As verbatim at IMDB.com:

Producers' intentions are to release PG-13 version of the movie in the regular theaters and NC-17 version in 3D theaters and/or DVD.

I mean, it's going to be really hard to tell this story while avoiding any forms of violence, gore, or bloodlust...especially if you want to remain faithful to the story and the tone and the characters. I mean, the mead hall is a great example of why you CAN'T cut the violence out so much. With that said, it's Robert Zemeckis...the same guy that directed Forrest Gump, Cast Away, produces horror movies through the Dark Castle brand (like House on Haunted Hill remake, Thirteen Ghosts remake, Ghost Ship, House of Wax, The Reaping, and Gothika)...but also did The Polar Express and Monster House.

When it comes down to it...the only way to REALLY do this would be with computer animation, as trying to go live-action like LOTR without WETA Workshop or possibly Peter Jackson would be nigh impossible. As well, Zemeckis is probably the premiere technological guru with his computer animation setup, and with Gaiman and Roger Avary doing the screenplay, it's going to be sweet...it's hard to doubt it. Plus, with the astounding cast (come on, Ray Winstone, Hopkins, Glover, and Jolie?!?! AMONG OTHERS) and the fall release date, as well as a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG development cycle (I've been watching this one for years now)...it's hard to think this movie could suck. At least on par with the badass-ness of 300.

As for the game...Ubisoft has failed to impress me much lately...and this IS a licensed title. So I'm not expecting much. Raving Rabbids 2, on the other hand...THANK GOD! I loved that game...bout the only one of their recent crop I enjoyed.
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rokkuman09
Posted May 23, 2007 5:54 pm PT

Dude a Beowulf movie? That's a pretty good idea.. Hope it comes out good.
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syafiqjabar
Posted May 23, 2007 5:12 pm PT

SOMEBODY SAID THE KING KONG GAME SUCKED??!!!!!!! OK, THAT SUCKS JUST LIKE HALF-LIFE 2, THE SIMS, STARCRAFT, WARCRAFT 3, A CURE FOR CANCER, WORLD PEACE.......

By the way, the cast is actually very good. There's Malkovich and Hopkins there, a Crispin Glover is really good, he was actually some fan's first choice to play Joker in the new Batman.

I was attracted by Gaiman's involvement than any of the cast's actually. Except maybe the hotness of Angelina Jolie.
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Jerian
Posted May 23, 2007 3:51 pm PT

Ok, the Beowulf I know stars Christopher Lambert & is from the creator of the Mortal Kombat movies. The movie is Awesomely bad and a game based off of that would rock! This new Beowulf if it is dumbed down for kids will suck & so will the game.
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wild_world_girl
Posted May 23, 2007 3:44 pm PT

RRR was a big dissapointment for me - I wanted a full-fledged Rayman adventure. Michel Ancel is the man. BG&E was an incredible achievement, and I would kill to see it's return.
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Harvestbuddy
Posted May 23, 2007 2:07 pm PT

i love beowulf!!
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overachiever92
Posted May 23, 2007 12:43 pm PT

The epic hack-and-slash initially excited me. But, if it's going to go along with a movie, I'm not quite so sure how it will turn out. So far, only Lord of the Rings and some Star Wars titles have turned out better than average. Most of them just try to cash in on all the movie fanatics. Fortunately, LotR and SW share an epic-y theme, and a strong "geek", and possibly gamer, fanbase. Maybe Beowulf is the same way...
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meltdown59992
Posted May 23, 2007 12:15 pm PT

i just finished reading Beowulf in my english class!
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jjdomo
Posted May 23, 2007 11:28 am PT

Scott_the_Snow . . . Michael Crichton based "Eaters of the Dead" almost entirely on Beowulf. In fact, he originally started writing it on a bet with a college buddy that he could re-write "Beowulf" and make it more interesting. Having read them both myself, they are extremely alike. I mean, he changed the villain, Grendel, to a group of villains called the Wendel . . . how much more obvious does it get? And yes, in both books, most of the fighters were Norsemen, there were no Roman legionnaires . . .
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BunnyNinja47
Posted May 23, 2007 11:02 am PT

I'm curious about the movie, however I don't very much like games that are made after movies, or vice versa, it's never meets my expectations, but we'll see what happens.
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Hvac0120
Posted May 23, 2007 8:37 am PT

That's one heck of a stars list for the movie. Looks like this one will definitely sell.

The game is another subject. Will have to wait and see what Ubisoft studio is developing and get some ideas of what the gameplay will be like.
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Pastehunter
Posted May 23, 2007 8:31 am PT

Wow ... what a surprise ... hopefully the next Rayman iteration wont be a pile of crap
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Legacyoftain
Posted May 23, 2007 8:27 am PT

@ Scott_the_Snow..when was the last time you heard of a Roman legionare name Bulvai? They were Norsemen...not Romans. Least in the movie...I never read the book (TV= faster knowlege)
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lasseee
Posted May 23, 2007 8:16 am PT

movie games : no go, i kinda liked spiderman, but it was the same as with all licensed games following a movie: so much potential, too little time, let's face it, every reaaally good game ALWAYS gets delayed
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Scott_the_Snow
Posted May 23, 2007 8:16 am PT

I have read Beowulf, and I dont find it similar to Eaters of the Dead (or the 13th Warrior), with the exception of the setting. If the 13th warrior used Roman legionnaires with an Arabic companion I doubt you could compare it to the epic poem.

Now, I do admit that "Beowulf" was written quite a while ago and might be one of the oldest stories written in the english language. This being said it is influential in that many stories have taken elements from it, especially as a source of Viking mythos, philosophy and lifestyle. There is a difference between using a story as a source of material, and retelling that story.
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drangel_jam
Posted May 23, 2007 7:58 am PT

Can't w8! I hope it won't be another King Kong.
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gafferoo
Posted May 23, 2007 7:55 am PT

Sounds interesting enough, I will definitely check out the movie.

The game, however, doesn't impress me right now. I guess I can wait till I see screenshots or gameplay footage.
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sansglitch
Posted May 23, 2007 7:24 am PT

To wingchunstudent: Yeah actually "The 13th Warrior" with Antonio Banderes was supposed to be an interpretation of the Beowulf narrative. Banderes is an Arab warrior/ambassador to Norse territory during the events of the story.
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Rect_Pola
Posted May 23, 2007 7:09 am PT

I do hope this Rayman is the adventure they teased us about before the first one. I mean it wasn't bad, but I was so ready for a good platformer the wii's been missing.
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wingchunstudent
Posted May 23, 2007 7:05 am PT

Wasn't there already a Beowulf movie out? It starred Christopher Lambert. Also, I think there was another one not too long ago either.
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SavoyPrime
Posted May 23, 2007 6:22 am PT

Hmmm...I'll wait to see Beowulf in action before I judge it. But I was hoping we could get a proper Rayman game.
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football_legend
Posted May 23, 2007 5:50 am PT

I luv ubisoft games: looking forward to Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell 5 and Haze.
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chrisdojo
Posted May 23, 2007 5:38 am PT

man i remember reading beowulf in high school. was an entertaining book.
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monco59
Posted May 23, 2007 5:09 am PT

Wow, Beowulf has an absolutely abysmal cast. All-star cast my ***...
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gillri
Posted May 23, 2007 4:34 am PT

Beowulf is an awesome story,

all you un-cultured Americans should try reading it
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fattyxboxbutt
Posted May 22, 2007 10:58 pm PT

If this is anywhere close to the Beowulf poem it wont be PG.
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kavadias1981
Posted May 22, 2007 10:28 pm PT

Can I please have a Rayman 2D Platformer with 3D minigames, ala Raving Rabbids, as a bonus feature?
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aygol
Posted May 22, 2007 10:23 pm PT

Ubisoft Rocks!
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syafiqjabar
Posted May 22, 2007 10:15 pm PT

Neil Gaiman said the movie is going to be 'cheerfuly violent and really-really weird' and I think this version will have Beowulf totally 'doing it' with Grendel's Mom. Yes, you read right. I read it in a mag somewhere. Gaiman did two Grendel-inspired short stories before: Bay Wolf (a modern day or near future story with Beowulf replaced by a werewolf) and Monarch of the Glen (a mini-sequel to Gaiman's novel American Gods, with the same portagonist). Bay Wolf is in 'Smoke and Mirrors' anthology, Monarch is in 'Fragile Things'.
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EddyG0RD0
Posted May 22, 2007 10:11 pm PT

"Wii and Game Boy Advance, and later arrived on the PC, DS, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360. "

thats UBI 4 ya
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interpolred
Posted May 22, 2007 9:56 pm PT

I hope the new Rabbids game has a longer story mode and more variety. The first game was good, but it was not without a few flaws.
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ChaosSpaceTroop
Posted May 22, 2007 9:09 pm PT

A PG version of Beowulf? That's not right.

Also does the 360 really need another Raving Rabbids? The first one wasn't that great to begin with. Stupid mediocre port.
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azizrulez
Posted May 22, 2007 9:07 pm PT

another rayman,sounds cool,
i just hope its more than mini-games now,
i want some serious platforming now
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simpl3
Posted May 22, 2007 8:31 pm PT

Sounds good so far. Beowulf is a really good story. I really hope they do not mess it up.
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Skinn_E_G
Posted May 22, 2007 8:22 pm PT

another day, another Ubisoft announcement
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Lord_Sun_Ce
Posted May 22, 2007 7:50 pm PT

How in the hell could they take a story that involved a guy ripping off a monster's arm possibly be anything less than an R rating? Anything less would take away from the story itself.
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Agreb91
Posted May 22, 2007 7:37 pm PT

Beowulf is a cool story, I can't wait to see where this goes.
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gahaz
Posted May 22, 2007 7:36 pm PT

Do you people that are saying they would like to play a Beowulf game understand that it is a movie tie in game from a film version that is being butchered to make it to a pg rating?
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Priest57
Posted May 22, 2007 7:16 pm PT

But Crichton got the idea for "Eaters of the Dead" from the tale of "Beowulf". Even the names are similar. Bulvine = Beowulf Wendel = Grendel. Michael Crichton has even said that he got the idea from Beowulf. "13th Warrior" was a great movie, but compared to the book it's only a mere shadow of something truly great.
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Melvist
Posted May 22, 2007 7:13 pm PT

'13th warrior has nothing to do with Beowulf...it is an adaptation of the Michael Crichton book "Eaters of the Dead" which is about Vikings.'

Actually, Jigsaw, 'Eaters of the Dead' is Michael Crichton's retelling of 'Beowulf', attempting to make the story more 'realistic' by removing the mythical and fantastical elements. If you had ever read 'Beowulf' and then read 'Eaters of the Dead' or watched 'The 13th Warrior', then the extreme similarities between the tales would be very obvious to you.
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Jigsaw_McGraw
Posted May 22, 2007 7:07 pm PT

13th warrior has nothing to do with Beowulf...it is an adaptation of the Michael Crichton book "Eaters of the Dead" which is about Vikings.
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alberto2045
Posted May 22, 2007 7:06 pm PT

they are coming out with a childrens version, doesnt the story have lots of blood in it???
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mugge5002
Posted May 22, 2007 6:59 pm PT

Beowulf wasn't the first story ever written down... the first story ever written down was from somewhere in the middle east (Babylon maybe? just a guess) from hundreds of years earlier. It was a story about two dragons and how the world was created.
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