Earlier this month, Sony announced that Columbia Pictures and PlayStation Productions are in the "early stages" of developing a movie adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn, and it sounds like they've finally got a director in mind.
According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Sony is eyeing Jordan Vogt-Roberts to direct the live-action movie. Vogt-Roberts made his feature film debut directing the coming-of-age comedy-drama The Kings of Summer (2013) but is perhaps best known these days for directing the blockbuster monster film Kong: Skull Island (2017).
No stranger to creating larger-than-life creatures, an adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn would be the perfect project as it will likely feature massive, machine-like creatures.
For those unfamiliar with the source material, Horizon Zero Dawn is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Sony's Guerrilla Games. The story follows Aloy (voiced by Ashly Burch, a young female hunter in a world overrun by machines, who sets out to uncover her past. Gameplay largely consists of stealth mechanics mixed with strategic action as players must discover how to exploit these mechanical monstrosities' weak spots.
Netflix was previously developing a series based on the game with The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman attached to the project. However, last July there were reports that the project was no longer moving forward. While there was no official announcement from Netflix, there were reports of alleged "toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior" by Blackman.
Just this month, Sony announced that they were now moving forward with a movie adaptation of the AAA game. No specific details were mentioned, although Asad Qizilbash, the head of PlayStation Productions, suggested it could tell Aloy's origin story. This would essentially be a straightforward adaptation of the game.
In a far future where colossal machines roam and rule the Earth, pockets of humanity survive in unique tribes among the lush, overgrown ruins of our long-lost civilization.
Take up bow and spear as Aloy, a young machine hunter and outcast of her tribe, as she discovers her origins, the truth of this mysterious world, and her own destiny to save it from impending doom.
Horizon Zero Dawn was both a critical and commercial success for Sony and Guerrilla Games. It won multiple awards and is one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games of all time with over 24 million units sold as of April 2023.
What started as Guerrilla Games' first intellectual property since 2004's Killzone has since turned into a promising new franchise for the studio and Sony. The game has since been followed with an expansion, The Frozen Wilds, in 2017, and a full-fledged sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, in 2022. There was also a LEGO adaptation, LEGO Horizon Adventures, as well as a remastered version of the game for PC and PS5 released late last year.
In addition to the adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn, Sony also recently announced an anime adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima and a movie adaptation of Helldivers. Both of these projects are still in early development, but there is a movie based on Until Dawn releasing this April.