Geek Discussion: Is The ‘Mass Effect’ Movie Doomed Already?
By The Movie God
| @
|
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 at 11:01 am
A movie adaptation of the mega–hit BioWare video game franchise, Mass Effect, is still in the very early stages of development, but already basic details are being shared that are pretty interesting and potentially unsettling.
Last we had heard, the project would be making an appearance at this past San Diego Comic–Con with BioWare’s Casey Hudson and screenwriter Mark Protosevich, but because it was so early, not much was shared. Not that it appeared, anyway. As it turns out, Legendary Pictures, the studio behind the planned movie, actually answered a few questions that fans were asking via the Twitter on their website. And a couple of their answers could have fans unsure of what’s to come.
Continue reading to see the Q&A and to chime in below with your thoughts on the Mass Effect movie!
Q: Will it just be an adaptation of the first game, second game, or a completely new story?
A: It will be a completely new story
Q: How are you going to address the element of ‘choice’ that the players have in the game?
A: A movie narrative is different than gameplay. There won’t be a choice aspect to this film, just a normal film narrative.
Q: Will it be a trilogy?
A: We are really focused on making this a great movie, so we’ll see where it takes us. We have to get the first one right to know whether there will be more.
Q: Will Seth Green portray Joker (that character he voiced in the game?)
A: No.
Q: Will the movie be focused on Shepard?
A: Yes.
Q: If the movie is focused on Shepard, will it be the male Shepard or the female Shepard?
A: Male.
Q: Can you give any hints to potential casting?
A: No. Stay tuned.
Q: Will BioWare allow plot/character changes?
A: Yes, we are working closely with BioWare on the development of this project.
Q: Would you consider Daft Punk to do the soundtrack?
A: We love Daft Punk, but it’s too early to say who will produce the soundtrack.
Now, the two that stand out here are, of course, the exclusion of Joker””one of the game’s most popular characters””and the plan to make the movie with a completely original storyline.
Mass Effect, much like with the Uncharted video game series (also being turned into a movie), already has a tremendous cinematic quality to it, and so it feels like the story is already there to be had. Deviating from that proven mythology could be a very risky move, or it could ultimately pay off; it really just depends on how they deliver it.
Working with BioWare, it could be just another great chapter to the Commander Shepard story (which we just found out would be ended in Mass Effect 3), but it could also lead to the sacrifice of a lot of important elements to that world, such as the Joker character for example, whom fans surely were hoping to see Seth Green bring to life in the movie. They didn’t say Joker wouldn’t be in the movie, but if they do have that character and it’s not Green in the role, you can expect to see some backlash, for sure.
It’s still far too early to tell how this movie will play out, and so it’s impossible to truly judge based on these answers. But we all know how difficult it is to pull off a good video game movie, and it’s not at all hard to make people nervous with tweaks to something held sacred.
And so I pass the mic onto you the readers. What do you think of Legendary’s answers to these questions, and how would your Mass Effect movie look?
You may have noticed that we're now AD FREE! Please support Geeks of Doom by using the Amazon Affiliate link above. All of our proceeds from the program go toward maintaining this site.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
Maybe they could just dub Seth Green’s voice over the actor portraying Joker. I have no problem with that.
Comment by Seamus Donaghey — September 22, 2011 @ 10:11 am