If you love video game film adaptations, get ready for your fix! Parlor favorite and highly popular arcade shooter created by Sega, House of the Dead, finally makes its way onto film courtesy of brilliant writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson. With known adaptations like the 1995 cult Mortal Kombat and the action-laden Monster Hunter from 2020, Anderson has been around the block concerning video game movies. He is also attached as a producer with his longtime collaborator Jeremy Bolt, meaning that the movie is in good hands.
Joining Anderson and Bolt are Sega's Toru Nakahara, also producing, Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg, and Dan Jevons of Story Kitchen. Timothy I. Stevenson will headline the role of executive producer in order to give further depth to the creative team involved in the project. I've loved the video game since the '90s," said Anderson, who jumped at the opportunity to adapt it. He even spoke about his arcade days, where he found both Mortal Kombat and The House of the Dead, to illustrate how long he has been into the franchise.
Further, the second in line will be a movie adaptation of The House of the Dead 3. The story will revolve around Lisa Rogan, who is a determined young lady in finding her dad amidst mayhem perpetrated by mutant creatures. It shall also star Daniel Curien, who happens to be the son of the very man responsible for these mutant outbreaks, trying to cope with this scenario. Anderson wants to capture the true spirit of the original game, which he said was intended to be a fluid and dynamic experience. "This is a full-on terror ride," he said, while the Resident Evil films were about problem-solving. The House of the Dead is truly a light rail shooter at its core, as players are thrown into the midst of the action, and Anderson is fully insistent on capturing this action onscreen.
Sega has always been protective of their IPs, so the addition of Toru Nakahara, Sega's Head of Production for Movies/TV, underlines the company's interest in making sure that the movie is in tune with their vision of the matter. He pointed out that Sega doesn't approach transmedia projects as it did prior to the Sonic film adaptations; hence, the renewed determinations in creating a variety of productions in expanding the Sega brand.
The shoot for the adaptation of The House of the Dead will start in the middle to late half of 2025. The production took to social media to reveal this news with a tweet of just two emojis: one of a house and another of a tombstone. With a passionate team behind it and source material that many hold dear, it's a guarantee that The House of the Dead will be nothing short of a thrill ride for both any gamer over the age of majority who has already played the game and those new to it. Get ready to enter the world of The House of the Dead, where terror awaits-rounded with action!