Activision Blizzard has set its sights on adapting the multi-million selling Call of Duty videogame franchise into a blockbuster film universe to rival Disney’s Marvel film series, reports The Guardian.
Speaking to the publication, Activision Blizzard Studios co-presidents Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk have said the industry giant is looking to have the Call of Duty movies take on a multi-layered, interconnected juggernaut in a similar vein to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has generated billions of dollars at the Box Office with the likes of Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other films.
The duo have confirmed that multiple scripts have already been churned out for the potential Call of Duty film universe, with extensive research carried out with military experts and retired soldiers. If all goes to plan, it is expected the first movie in the series will begin shooting early next year, with more to follow.
“We have plotted out many years,” commented Sher. “We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.”
“It’s going to have the same sort of high-adrenaline, high-energy aesthetic as the game, but it’s not a literal adaptation. It’s a much more broad and inclusive, global in scope … a big, tentpole Marvel-esque movie,” added Van Dyk.
Sher is no stranger to the movie world, having worked on a number of high-profile projects such as Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight. Van Dyk meanwhile was formerly an executive with Disney, and was a key component in the studio’s acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars.
The Call of Duty videogame series currently operates on a three-year development cycle split between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Treyarch. This year’s entry is in production at Sledgehammer, with rumors suggesting the game will be returning to the series’ World War II roots with Call of Duty WW2.