After a string of hits, movie and television production companies are more bullish than ever on video game adaptations for both the big and small screen. From the Sonic the Hedgehog films to HBO’s The Last of Us series to Illumination’s record-setting Mario movie, it seems that studios have finally figured out how to adapt beloved video game franchises.
Jack Black, who stars as Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, recently spoke to BBC about the future of video game adaptations, and he believes the future is bright for them.
"In the future, film and television are going to keep going towards using the stories told in video games, because that market seems to be growing and growing exponentially.”
Black, who also runs a YouTube channel featuring gaming content, acknowledged that he’s a fan of adaptations “when done right.” He cited HBO’s The Last of Us as one of those successful adaptations.
"The Last of Us was fantastic. And what's crazy is how loyal it is to the original source material. It's basically all from the game with just a couple of tweaks. It's going to win all the awards. They used the video game almost like a storyboard and I was like, 'Whoa, this looks just the same.'”
Black went on to reveal one game that he’d like to see explored in television or film is Red Dead Redemption. “There should be, because I think that [has] just as good or [an] even better story than The Last of Us,” the actor proclaimed.
Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, action-adventure series from Rockstar Games. The first game, which released in 2010, is set at the turn of the 20th century and follows the story of former outlaw John Marston as he sets out on an adventure to bring three members of his former gang to justice.
2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2 served as a prequel to the first game, expanding on the backstory of the Van der Linde gang, who are on the run from federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation. The story itself follows outlaw Arthur Morgan as he struggles with his own ideals and loyalty to the gang that raised him.
Although whether or not Red Dead Redemption’s story is better than The Last of Us is up for debate, there’s no denying that if done correctly, the games would make for a wonderful movie or television series. Like The Last of Us, the Red Dead Redemption games are known for their tremendous storytelling and unpredictable narrative, interesting characters, and incredible world-building.
Both Red Dead Redemption games received universal acclaim from critics upon release. Red Dead Redemption 2, in particular, was the recipient of over 250 perfect scores and winner of over 175 Game of the Year Awards. As a franchise, over 70 million copies of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 have been sold worldwide, with the latter game comprising the bulk of sales.