For years there was plenty of disdain regarding video game-adapted films and series. Most of these adaptations really failed to keep up with the same level of hype and admiration fans placed on them. But that might be changing. One of the productions that proved video game-adapted films and shows can work is HBO’s The Last of Us. That’s according to film director Chad Stahelski. The director is attached to a couple of projects, but one, in particular, has picked up more heat thanks to the success of The Last of Us.
You might be familiar with his work if you don’t recall this director by his name alone. Chad Stahelski is the director behind the John Wick films, a series of movies that have proven to be a hit. But Chad is currently also attached to another project he’s incredibly excited about, a movie adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima. This production is not set in stone quite yet, but interest is rising, according to the director. Recently, Chad Stahelski spoke with Brobible, where the topic of the HBO hit came up.
According to Chad, this success is breaking the curse when it comes to video game adaptations. He believes that you can make a successful adaptation if you take great care and attention to the film. That’s something he’s hopeful of doing with Ghost of Tsushima as it started to gain more attention after the HBO series season ended. But, of course, it would be interesting to see if the film does well, as you can argue that adapting The Last of Us into a television series allowed the story to be told without making too many cuts.
But Ghost… it’s got an amazing story. It’s the anti-samurai samurai movie. It’s got great thematics. We have a lot of push on that and a lot of interest because Last of Us pushing that, yes, the curse of video game-to-movie is kind of lifted. It can be done. You’ve just got to give it love and attention. And Ghost, of probably all the other video game [movies] in development, I think that’s the one that’s going to land.
Chad Stahelski – Brobible
We’re hopeful that we will start to see a push of remarkable adaptations from video games hit both films and television series. Some incredible narratives could be told from the video game medium. But we’ll just have to wait and see if any other IPs are able to hit the same levels as HBO’s The Last of Us. Likewise, it will be interesting to see if season two of The Last of Us can keep up with fan expectations. We already know that the next season will not contain all of the narrative told in The Last of Us Part II. Which, if you recall, was a game narrative that had some fans split with the direction developers took the story.
