For decades, fans of the Metal Gear Solid video game franchise (myself included) have been begging for a film adaptation of Hideo Kojima’s legendary “tactical espionage action” series. Now it looks like it’s finally happening with two A+ filmmakers attached to direct and one of the biggest movie studios pushing to make it a reality, for real this time.
According to a recent THR report, Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, the filmmaking duo behind Final Destination: Bloodlines and the upcoming animated Venom project, have been tapped by Sony Pictures to adapt one of the most cinematic and influential video game franchises of all time. The pair, which has given audiences some unforgettable and shockingly violent horror moments over the past decade, shared a statement with the outlet expressing their excitement and love for Metal Gear Solid:
Metal Gear Solid was nothing short of a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece that forever revolutionized video games. We are thrilled and honored to bring Hideo Kojima’s iconic characters and unforgettable world to life.
So, with two of the brightest up-and-coming directors in Hollywood turning my all-time favorite video game franchise into a movie, you would think I’d be jumping out from underneath my cardboard box like I’m Solid Snake sneaking around Shadow Moses all over again. Well, I’m not letting myself get too excited. Not yet, anyway…
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Despite being one of the video game series tailor-made for a big-screen adaptation (seriously, Hideo Kojima’s games are heavily influenced by American and international cinema), a Metal Gear Solid movie has never come to fruition. While there have been multiple attempts to bring it to the big screen, including one with Oscar Isaac playing Solid Snake, something has always come up or gotten in the way.
In fact, back in November 2020, I spent way too much time trying to figure out what was going on with those attempts. Though there has never been any official word on why the game begging for a big screen adaptation has yet to make the jump, it always seems to come down to vague comments about the script, story, and potential. The craziest part about that is the fact that CinemaBlend was already covering Sony’s attempts at adapting Metal Gear Solid as far back as 2012. So it’s easy to see why I am cautiously optimistic about this actually happening.
Though I’m reluctant to get overly excited about Metal Gear Solid getting a film adaptation, I have to admit that I’ll be more stoked than ever before if this does, in fact, actually happen. As someone who has beaten the mainline games more times than I can count, spent way too much time and money on the franchise, and annoyed family, friends and my wife with my love of these games, this is an upcoming video game movie I really, really want to see.
With the Metal Gear Solid movie in the works, now I have to start worrying about the important issues, like who’ll play Solid Snake and which game from the series Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein plan on tackling first.