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Mortal Kombat film advancing, Mass Effect movie still being mulled

Warner Bros. has hired screenwriter for big-screen reboot of its fighting game franchise; BioWare still weighing options to guarantee high-quality adaptation.

The past week has seen new updates on two major game-to-film adaptations. First up, the proposed reboot of the Mortal Kombat film franchise seems to be moving ahead, albeit ever so slowly. First revealed via a producer's lawsuit against now-defunct publisher Midway, the project would be the first Mortal Kombat movie since 1997's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. It would also be the first big-screen adaptation of the fighting franchise since Warner Bros. bought the Mortal Kombat IP from Midway last July.

Liu Kang is limbering up for his next movie appearance…

Liu Kang is limbering up for his next movie appearance…

Although the Mortal Kombat movie's production appears to have missed a rumored September start date, horror-film blog Bloody Disgusting reports that screenwriter Oren Uziel has been tapped by Warner Bros. to pen its script. Though none of his screenplays have been turned into feature films, Uziel's Shimmer Lake was on the 2009 "Black List" of top unproduced scripts in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, the big-screen adaptation of Mass Effect has resurfaced a year and a half after reports of its existence appeared. Last week, Mass Effect 2 project director Casey Hudson told MTV Movies that, "Obviously we have a tremendous amount of interest from people in Hollywood to make a major motion picture about Mass Effect."

…but the Krogans aren't ready for their close-up.

…but the Krogans aren't ready for their close-up.

Appearing to contradict a 2008 Variety report (linked above), Hudson made it sound as if any deal to license a Mass Effect film production was a ways off. "We're just looking at our options there but waiting to make sure we have something really right before we do it," he said. "The most important thing for us is…we don't just want to see a movie get made. We want to see a great movie get made, if it's going to get done at all."

188 Comments

  • pedroalexxx

    Posted Sep 14, 2010 2:43 pm GMT

    Movies are movies and games are games. A game should not become worse if a movie about it is bad. Learn the difference...

  • RitterXplode

    Posted Jun 9, 2010 1:28 pm GMT

    So please don't ruin it with a crappywood generic movie.

  • RitterXplode

    Posted Jun 9, 2010 1:28 pm GMT

    Mass Effect is so damn good.

  • Brebber

    Posted Jun 9, 2010 11:56 am GMT

    Problem with Mass Effect movie. I'm not sure if you guys have played of Game-to-Movie/Movie-to-Game, BUT the majority of these games/movies blow hard. The only half decent Game-to-Movie that I can think of is Silent Hill because they stuck to the suspense and horror of the game. Uwe Boll did a good job with that one. As for Movie-to-Game, they all suck. Warner Bro. doesn't have a good rep for making good Video Game-Movies. Granted I admire their desire to make an awesome game into an awesome movie, but somethings should stay awesome games, I don't wanna see another movie ruin a good game franchise (Prince of Persia).

  • Batmanreborn

    Posted May 26, 2010 12:03 pm GMT

    This better be good!!!!...

  • blaze_raiden

    Posted Mar 23, 2010 3:46 am GMT

    seriously they have been telling rumors about that movie for years. i wouldn't get my hopes up,

  • vanrok

    Posted Mar 14, 2010 6:43 pm GMT

    i want to see a movie but exactly as they say to make a GREAT movie not just some lol movie and hire Uwe boll as producer

  • thetarget

    Posted Mar 10, 2010 9:28 am GMT

    I think it will work.
    It might not be the story of shepard, maybe the adventure of the asari spectre assigned to take down a ceberus base or something. It will work if the movie illustrates the amount of fustration we have when we are trying to choose the correct conversational respond, or leaving someone behind.

    However I really agree that if there is really a ME movie, it must be a great one, else might as well can it.

  • ThePowerOfHAT

    Posted Feb 15, 2010 2:01 pm GMT

    A Mass Effect movie seems kinda senseless. The games have this great story that's built around the player's decisions, and that's not something you can replicate in a film, which pretty much negates the biggest storytelling advantage that the games have. And while the universe itself is certainly fleshed out enough to allow the opportunity, making a two to two-and-a-half hour long movie doesn't seem like enough time to really bring the spirit of exploration and epicness that the games provide. If any sort of medium outside of games and books were to be reasonable for Mass Effect, I could see a TV series. But then you're just looking at another space show on TV, and after the popular remake of Battlestar Galactica and the slow-moving but expected Star Wars live action show on the horizon, I doubt there'd be much room for it.

  • ffviiifreak

    Posted Feb 11, 2010 6:02 pm GMT

    looking back on this article its I still find myself dunbfounded by the bouyancy of crap in hollywood.

  • MrAbs

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 7:12 am GMT

    It would be great to see either one of these movies. MK failed last time they tried to make a movie, so let's hope they learnt from their mistakes. As for Mass Effect...I totally see Matthew Fox for Lost as Shepherd!!

  • YoJim8obaJoe

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 6:49 am GMT

    cant see a mass effect movie working as half the audience will want a good shepherd and the other half will want a evil shepherd,plus time limit in which to tell the story.

    If movie games werent so bad i think it would be quite cool to have a movie carry on from 3,like when all the reapers are destroyed 1 gets away and the film picks up with shepherd and crew hunting the final reaper

  • The_Consequence

    Posted Feb 7, 2010 1:21 pm GMT

    A movie about the "First Contact War" would be a good idea. If you've played either game you probably know what I mean. That would be a perfect premise for a Mass Effect movie.

  • solidsnake7882

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 3:02 pm GMT

    I love Mass Effect but I have many doubts regarding a film. It would be very hard to translate to the big screen and would definitely not be a huge success mainly due to limited audience. A ME movie would have to be high budget to look good and it just would never earn enough to offset the cost. Not to mention replicating the quality of the games would be very hard.

  • sircyrus

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 9:30 am GMT

    Mass Effect is a great game with a great setting, but it's storyline isn't one that would fit the movie screen. The central plot is too video game-ish.

    The setting itself could translate moderately well, but I don't think they'd be able to make it as good as the form it was created for - the game.

    A very large part of why it's so good is because it allows players to make choices and see the impact of those choices. You lose that when it becomes a movie.

  • Buffalo2867

    Posted Feb 5, 2010 1:37 am GMT

    Yeah Im not big on the idea of a Mass Effect movie. Hollywood has proven time and time again that it thinks very little of gamers, making crapfest film adaptations catering to your typical 14 year old teen, regardless of how mature and sometimes thoughtful the video games were. If they got perhaps a Peter Jackson or someone similar, Id be alright with it, but I wont hold my breath. Far more likely to get an Uwe Boll type director.

  • araisikewai

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 5:43 pm GMT

    Mass Effect is a vast universe, if they were going to make a movie about it, it should never be taken from the game main cannon. Instead it should be from another part in the universe.
    Have any of you read the novel?
    I think "ME: Revelation" could be made into a good movie if they polish up the script. Wasn't so sure about the second or third novel though.

  • Failed2Live

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 6:10 am GMT

    I think a boot of Mortal Kombat would be amazing, I loved the first film but the second failed miserably.
    I don't know much about Mass Effect but I don't think they should touch it for a film. The trailer for the second one was pretty powerful. Some games need to just remain games.

  • spyroiskool

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 12:05 pm GMT

    I loved the Mk movies when I was three. Now I think it would be terrible.

  • Mr_Manikin52

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 11:26 am GMT

    DON'T touch Mass Effect!

  • Richardthe3rd

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 11:16 am GMT

    Mass Effect movie is a bad idea.

    The game already has high profile actors not only voicing but having their likenesses rendered in some cases into the game.

    A movie will fall short, and anyone who's not interested in Mass Effect isn't going to change their mind just because a cash-in movie is released. Bad idea guys, protect the IP from ridicule and scrap the movie plans.

  • blacksaibot

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 7:50 am GMT

    CG film please. We don't need crappy martial artists in the film *cough* Kitana VS Sindel *cough* or crappy costumes... nor do we need a MK film without fatalities. CG lets your imagination run wild and have it come true on the screen.

  • a_tiger101

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:13 am GMT

    Let James Cameron write the script and direct the movie and it's gonna be a hit!!

  • bartimeo8

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 11:40 pm GMT

    Agree with blasterchief too, games like mass effect are in their own league within the game industry, you follow them like you'd follow a series of books, they include political or ethical matters -ofcourse there's space for improvement there- to make you think, if you don't skip dialogs and texts like an a---, let you forge the hero and rise him up to the image the characters around him expect to and pursue the ending of it all like in every story. There's nothing really missing there in terms of presentation and storytelling for it to need making a movie from that story except maybe making available to the people that would not be intrested in playing a game.

  • bartimeo8

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 11:30 pm GMT

    I don't know if the company would have a gain out of making a mass effect movie to be honest, most people are biased against movies based on games as "movies for the fanclub" and the game is -in my opinion at least- incredible, thus pushing the expectations high... so in order for the movie not to disappoint the fans, it will need to be a great movie and rather an expensive one and still it'll have a hard time hitting the mass of viewers for it to be able to cover its cost and give a profit. I don't know.... mass effect is like an interactive movie for me anyway. As for mortal kombat.. i really don't get what they'll make a scenario out of anyway... the series has lost a lot in popularity and it has been milked a lot, they even made a series out of it.

  • blasterchief

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 8:50 pm GMT

    What the hell is the point of making a Mass Effect movie? As a game, it's a space opera already! Games such as Mass Effect 2 and Assassin's Creed II bring games closer to being an art, a medium that can stand on its own with respect and sophistication. A Mass Effect movie would simply be drawing away from that.

  • Titans23

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 3:15 pm GMT

    Mass Effect could not be made into a movie, its an interactive video game, u make choices and the game revolves around them, you can't make a movie out of mass effect because its based too much on the players decisions. Also in video game form its cinematic experience would be well better received.

  • Madmanreeper

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 2:04 pm GMT

    Does anyone remember um Starwars, Indiana Jones, Blade? They made several movies to complete the story so why can't they try and do the same with Mass Effect. The game is huge, but made into a series of movies I'm sure they could cover the story line. Yes the Mass Effect Trilogy set on Blue Ray. What a blast!!!

  • ZuberaiGF

    Posted Jan 31, 2010 3:53 pm GMT

    I agree, a ME movie couldn't follow the storyline of the game. There is simply too much content and too many things happening. It's not linear enough in other words. It would end up being an extremely dumbed down version. ME2 would be even more difficult, because the majority of it is recruiting teammates, not exactly movie material. I'd love if they made a movie, but to be good in its own right it couldn't follow more then the absolute basics of the storyline. Which would ruin it for the ME fanbase. In short, theres a slim chance it could turn out well just cause ME is awesome, but its highly unlikely, so I'd prefer if they put resources into making ME3 even more awesome instead.

  • Oni

    Posted Jan 31, 2010 2:43 pm GMT

    If James Cameron directs the ME movie, I'm there!

  • Schwarte

    Posted Jan 31, 2010 7:26 am GMT

    I'm skeptical about a ME movie. ME makes use of too much information and has a too detailed storyline to punch it into 3-hour format. If they make one, it should not be based on the storyline of either ME game, neither of which are movie-convertable. (This is not criticism of the story, I loved ME2 and at least liked the story in ME1. They're just not movie material.)

  • Jshaw71

    Posted Jan 31, 2010 5:25 am GMT

    really, games like mess effect 2, and 1 need mo movie, it's it's own movie exp on it's own, although i could always go for another mk movie, but is there anything else to be done? that's the question...

  • aldrenar47

    Posted Jan 30, 2010 7:46 pm GMT

    Mass Effect has better source material as far as story and characters than any game based movie has had so far

  • 008Zulu

    Posted Jan 30, 2010 1:04 pm GMT

    The article was not gender specific, I also know a girl named Kat. I just assumed.

  • andalore

    Posted Jan 30, 2010 9:16 am GMT

    @008Zulu thats a dude you know...

  • onthe_dl

    Posted Jan 30, 2010 6:08 am GMT

    you'd think that big producers would be jumping at the chance to work on a mass effect movie.

    Look at the rich background and story already developed and known by fans. This is a chance to make a new star wars if done properly.

  • 008Zulu

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 11:03 pm GMT

    Leave Mass Effect alone!
    (Imagine it by the girl who does the Britney Spears vid)

  • nustar

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 4:15 pm GMT

    I think if James Cameron or Peter Jackson were to do this I think it would be great.

  • Andy639_basic

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 4:15 pm GMT

    Of course they go forward with the movie based on the franchise flailing its severed, bleeding limbs and whose creator went belly up.

  • bertm1975

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 2:06 pm GMT

    And now they are working on a Dead Space movie. It'll end up like the movie Pandorum (very similar story) or The Descent, released overseas and barely do anything in the US, and then go straight to DVD.

  • bertm1975

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 2:02 pm GMT

    No to Mass Effect the movie. Hollywood record on sci-fi films last decade is poor, especially one as deep and intelligent as Mass Effect. As for Mortal Kombat, the martial arts genre is pretty much done with anything Amercan made. The best we get now is Jackie Chan's Spy Next Door. There would be too much wire-fu, or CGI or completly change the storyline and drop the tournment. Or hire some wimpy, emo actors. MK1 was great. I loved it, but I doubt the film would work today.

  • jokers_anarchy

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 12:36 pm GMT

    it worries me that they want to make a mass effect movie. but part of me wants to see this great game be made into what would hopefully be a great movie

  • downloadthefile

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 6:38 am GMT

    no mass effect movie, its too close to a movie as is and it would be made horribly.

    I can already picture the "get allies" montage in my head, and the cheesy film version of a Miranda or Ashley (depending on which one they do) love story.

  • bandit7319

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 6:33 am GMT

    This is a dumb idea. The original MK movie didn't do very good and that's when it was hugely popular amongst gamers. The second one did terrible and it still had a little bit of appeal to gamers athough nowhere near as much as when the original came out. Now, putting it out 12 years after the last one when MK is laughable and has had nothing but bad games put out in the franchise, if this makes it off the cutting room floor I see it being a massive flop.

    I think the game franchise that has the greatest chance of making it to the movies that I've played recently is Uncharted. The Tomb Raider movies I think did pretty well. Uncharted 2 is practically a movie in itself.

  • COSMICX815

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 6:20 am GMT

    MK movie is a little....eh. But if it was done correctly, maybe it would be a decent movie, Mass Effect has a great chance for a movie, but if they leave out core characters, the movie would suck. They need the whole crew, plus the Alliance and the Council. I assume it would be based on Saren, Geth, and the Reapers, like the first game. They could make it a cliffhanger before introducing ME2 into the movie's story line. Krogans would look badass in CG.

  • Skargamer

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 5:14 am GMT

    those who haven't played or heard (highly unlikely) of the game may look forward to this movie if they made an equally awesome trailer like the launch trailer!!!

  • Arraxis

    Posted Jan 28, 2010 11:09 pm GMT

    If they're gonna make a Mass Effect movie, I'd hope that it'd be an original storyline set in the same universe rather than one about Shepard, since everyone has their own idea for what they're like. It'd also give the writers and director more freedom, since they wouldn't be as confined as they would if they had to follow the game storyline.

  • Spybreak

    Posted Jan 28, 2010 10:46 pm GMT

    I think if Drew makes the script for the movie the Mass Effect movie will be epic.

  • italianice102

    Posted Jan 28, 2010 9:33 pm GMT

    If the Illusive Man is to appear in this movie I think Martin Sheen should just play him, if he were to appear at all. But obviously if this movie would be any good, they shouldn't even reference any characters in the games. Just make a separate story in a different time, like the First Contact War or discovery of the first Prothean artifact. That would probably be the safest bet, aside from just leaving this thing as a video game and not messing with it.

  • firehawk998

    Posted Jan 28, 2010 8:59 pm GMT

    If they are gonna do a Mass Effect movie and if Bioware handles the project personally then be assured that the movie is in right hands. Oh and one last thing I want the Illusive man in the movie.

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