7 Video Games That Would Make Great Blockbuster Movies
Video games are often so entrancing because of well-executed narratives full of exciting characters. In the world of video games, the possibilities are limitless and thus, our hours invested playing them seem to whip by in a flash. We've seen games transformed into films before, both live action and animated, and it's rare that a movie is able to capture all that makes a game worth playing; however, here are seven suggestions for video games that could potentially make great feature films. Most of these are meant to work as live-action films with CGI worked into the mix.
Be sure to hit the comments with your own suggestions as well!
Metroid
Image: Nintendo
A Metroid film was allegedly barely in the making for years, though production seems to have completely fallen flat. Still, the idea of a well-done film about a badass female space-faring bounty hunter protecting the galaxy from pirates could be something fresh. This is the first video game to ever have a female protagonist.
Casting Suggestions: Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, or Claire Holt (The Vampire Diaries/ The Originals) as Samus Aran
Mortal Kombat (Reboot)
Image: Netherrealm Studios
The original Mortal Kombat films are total guilty pleasures, but the online web series that popped up on YouTube, Mortal Kombat Legacy, has delivered two seasons’ worth of dark action and drama. Rumors have swirled of a potential new film, but news seems to have died down. Taking the vibe of the hit web series (Check it out below!) to the original story of the first Mortal Kombat tournament depicted in the original game could totally work as a new hit action-drama on the big screen.
Casting Suggestions: Zac Efron as a young Johnny Cage, Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf) as an unmasked Sub-Zero, Megan Fox as Kitana/ Mileena
Pikmin
Image: Nintendo
How about a live-action telling of Captain Olimar’s intergalactic vacation gone wrong? Captain Olimar crash-lands on a planet after a comet strikes his spaceship. There he must rely on the indigenous creatures known as Pikmin to help him gather up the parts of his shattered vehicle. The Pikmin, in turn, are nearly extinct and come to rely on Olimar to guide them as their leader across their dangerous home planet.
Casting Suggestions: Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill as Captain Olimar
Donkey Kong Country
Image: Nintendo
If Seth Macfarlane ever decided to write something age-appropriate for a younger audience, the apes of Donkey Kong Country have enough pizzaz and spunk to carry a compelling story. Yes, there was an animated series for a moment there, but think about well-designed CGI characters in an actual live-action jungle setting.
Casting Suggestions: Shia Labeouf as the voice of Diddy Kong (He can come out of "retirement" for this.)
Pokémon
Image: Nintendo
Yes, we’ve seen countless animated movies and several seasons of a hit TV show. The world would need to be expansive, but if the budget was large enough, a live-action Pokémon movie centering on the original story of 12-year-old Ash Ketchum and his little buddy Pikachu could totally work as a blockbuster catered to a young audience and twenty-somethings looking for a bit of nostalgia.
Casting Suggestions: Ethan Cutkosky (Shameless) as Ash Ketchum
Super Smash Bros.
Image: Nintendo
This could work in the vein of the sure-to-be smash film The Lego Movie, which already has critics raving. Gathering up several classic Nintendo characters, mixing them all together in a melee or brawl, and coming up with a simple plot that requires them to come together to battle the Master Hand, which could essentially be the actual hand of a little boy playing with his toys, could be awesome if they keep things simple enough. Plus, adding new voiceover actors as opposed to using the well-known voices of the video games could add a fun twist to the whole idea.
Casting Suggestions: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the voice of Bowser and Amy Poehler as the voice of Kirby
Assassin's Creed
Image: Ubisoft
It’s happening! Summer of 2015, Assassin’s Creed is hitting the big screen, and it’s allegedly set to star Michael Fassbender. Will Fassbender actually end up playing Desmond Miles, trained assassin turned bartender who’s forced to visit the memories of his ancestors to recover artifacts hidden in time?
Do you play any video games that you'd like to see made into movies?