If there were ever a video game franchise that needed to be adapted it would have to be Metal Gear Solid. Regardless of what you think of the quality of video game adapted films (most of the time they suck), studios keep churning them out, and no matter how sacred the franchise, studios see a property they like, they will turn it into a film.

But maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem. At a Metal Gear anniversary party, there was a banner that read “Metal Gear Solid Hollywood Movie” with the Columbia Pictures logo located right below it. Arad and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima were on hand to confirm the project, where they said they “will take our time and tell the story with all the nuances, ideology, cautionary tales needed.”

Arad is on board to act as producer for the film and that Columbia Pictures would finance and distribute it. This comes after the fact that the Metal Gear Solid adaptation was under a near five-year gestation period. Word of an adaptation was being developed started in 2007, but in 2010, it started to look like it wasn’t going to happen. Kojima will act as an executive producer.

Sounds like some typical lip service talk. Bringing a film that stays true to the franchise is something we’ve all heard of before. But Arad has given us some very likable films like the Spider-Man franchise, the X-Men Franchise, and the Blade Franchise. He’s also given us some clunky failures like the Bratz movie (still can’t believe that was an actual movie).

The franchise is a complex story filled multi-generational stories with infiltration and espionage. But the first game started with a special ops soldier code named Solid Snake infiltrating a nuclear weapons disposal facility to neutralize the terrorist organization FOXFOUND, a specialized attack force group gone rouge. Since those events, we learn that there is much more to Snake, FOXHOUND, and the people behind the Metal Gear projects. There is so much that a prequel game had to be made to elaborate on the history. It’s all very complex, but it’s also a very fun game to play.

With the Metal Gear Solid movie still very early in development, there has been no writer, director, or cast attached to star. And given the complexity of the game franchise, it could be a while before the writers are able to crack the script. I am still hoping that they can get Viggo Mortensen to play as Snake.

So what do you think, is it about time that Metal Gear Solid get the film treatment?

[Source: Kotaku]