Mass Effect heading to the silver screen
BioWare's epic science fiction series takes place in the year 2183 and follows Commander Shepard of the SS Normandy who leads a team on a mission to defeat an ancient alien race that invades the galaxy every 50,000 years, wiping out all organic life. The most recent game in the series, Mass Effect 2, was released in January of 2010, and earned rave reviews from critics worldwide.
"Mass Effect is a tremendous property ripe for translation to the big screen," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures. "Mass Effect is a prime example of the kind of source material we at Legendary like to develop; it has depth, compelling characters and an engaging back story. This coupled with Avi and Ari producing and the skills of a great team adapting the screenplay, are the start of turning this smash videogame based property into a successful feature film."
"We are thrilled to be working with Legendary," said producer Avi Arad. "EA and BioWare are terrific partners who have created a brilliant piece of fiction with a universe filled with amazing aliens and technology. More importantly, though, they created a parable whose conflicts mirror the ones we currently face in our own world. This story emphasizes the need for all cultures to learn to work together. All this magic is presented in a fast paced action-adventure that makes for the best kind of movie experience."
"At BioWare, we've always thought of Mass Effect as having the depth, emotion and plot twists perfectly suited for an adaptation to a motion picture," said Casey Hudson. "With Legendary and Avi and Ari Arad attached, we believe that the Mass Effect movie will be an extraordinary entertainment event that realizes our vision for the franchise and thrills fans."
Pat O'Brien, VP of EA Entertainment added "The mission of EA Entertainment is to take key EA properties and find additional ways to bring these properties to people. We can't think of a better fit than Mass Effect and we couldn't be more excited to bring Commander Shepard's adventures to the silver screen."
Mass Effect 2 is available on the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system and PC. For more information on Mass Effect, go to MassEffect.BioWare.com.
Mass Effect comes to theaters in 2012.
Comments (20)
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T.Clark
I hope this movie is treated as more than just a cash cow. Without the interactive quality one gets with a video game, it could be nothing more than a summer pop-corn flick, and that's the last thing this series deserves. It needs to be epic in scope and visually stunning, with compelling characters whose motivations aren't entirely on the surface. The writers are going to have their hands full with this one.
As Comrade said, "anything less than stellar" is a waste of time and money. I'll go so far as saying that the games rival Star Wars as one of the greatest science fiction properties ever released. The games themselves are already of cinematic quality...an interactive film, and for an actual film to work, a lot of creativity and effort will have to be put in.
2 years agoby @insertusernamehereFlag
DCMX(16)
wow this has to be the most original movie in Hollywood.*sarcasm* f*ck this when is the Gears of War movie coming out.
2 years agoby @dcmx16Flag
gandoff2169
This is great news and bad news all in one. As much as I would love to see Mass Effect as a movie, it is hard to see how they will handle the scope of what the game is, and put it in a game. Every missions is a Shepard story. But with one game having dozens and dozens od missions, how do the make it fit into a movie that is 2 hours long at most? This could be done if it is in the scope that was Lord of the Rings. A line of conituation of the story in a few films to give more depth the the main story and missions to build on the dynamics of the characters relationships that is built on in the game. I have ot dout that the actions, and for the most part, the visual effects will be top notch. But for me, the only issue I have is how are they going to relate a long story of what is Mass Effect to a movie in any other way then in a continue formate of movies? I know they could do a entire movie, and be completl;y diffrent from what the Games are. And with three's story prety much written already, the movie could build a story on what comes after the thrid game, but till the thrid game is dne and out for a while to advoid spoilers for the game in the movie, this is atleast 3 years off anyway.
2 years agoby @gandoff2169Flag
Escapist
Is there any news on the Halo movie that's supposed to be under works?
2 years agoby @escapistFlag
Mutant
I didn't mind the game, the story was good but what got me was the battle system. It felt like I was playing FF 13. Otherwise I enjoyed it.
As a film, it could work if it was handled right.
2 years agoby @zenderFlag
The Narrator: The Better Man
Lol yeah, the writers are gonna have their work ct out for them. But still, I look forward to this a lot. I mean the game to me wasn't that great, as much as it was fun, and although the choice to go down different paths etc. was great, without it the game would have definitely been lacking in depth, so by them making this film, they can bring it into light as a sprawling epic, with Sheperd actually weighing his decisions, and who knows, they might have alternate endings and cut scenes of him making other choices or responding differently; redefining film.
2 years agoby @narratorFlag
ejk1
Fallen, I'm just wondering how people that played Shepard aggressively will react to seeing him act with restraint, and vice-versa. A delicate balance will be needed to create a character all will enjoy. I don't envy the writers on this one.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
fanboy
hopefully this will be a sweet movie
2 years agoby @fanboyFlag
The Narrator: The Better Man
@ejk, very well said. I initially didn't think of that, but then again, who knows. They could surprise us. It obviously won't be anywhere near as deep or have as much of an impact as the game had on the subconscious decisions we make, but the film might still go there. At least it will be "sprawling and epic" given the circ*mstances..
2 years agoby @narratorFlag
IamBATMAN
boo!
2 years agoby @iambatmanFlag
The Narrator: The Better Man
Well this is actually good news. Legendary Pictures have made great movies recently, and they seem to take adaptions very seriously. I'd rather them and (possible) WB have it than who knows.
I have faith this will have a substantial budget and a deserving story. Everything else simply falls on the director. Personally, I say Ridley Scott would be great if he wasn't doing the Alien Prequel, and Leonardo for the lead role.
2 years agoby @narratorFlag
herione32
i deff agree with Diaigma a bioshock movie would be soo epic to no limits i have made soo many story lines for bioshock and it just comes out so gory!!!!! soo i wasnt a big fan of this game either would rather see it on the big screen
2 years agoby @herione32Flag
ejk1
The games are excellent, but I don't care about a Mass Effect movie. The greatest charm of the games is the ability to go in whatever direction you choose. The movie will limit that type of experience.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
Diaigma
@Xybernetic
I didn't say it was a bad game.
Yes, I know. I'm one of the few that wasn't completely wowed by it.
I vote for a Bioshock movie first.
2 years agoby @diaigmaFlag
-comrade-
If this is not the most epic and compelling f*cking science fiction movie since the Matrix they shouldn't even bother. If they do and it sucks, I hereby advocate the punishment of 1000 kicks to the dick.
Mass Effect isn't that intellectually challenging, but on some levels the pure visual poetry and performances are like Blade Runner in space (with a weaker plot). If this is anything less than stellar, the makers should not get work again for ten years.
2 years agoby @taberjohnson18Flag
Frenzy2001
One of my favorite videogames. However, this is a movie that will fail horribly without a decent budget, and a genuine production effort. Hope they don't let it flop.
2 years agoby @frenzy2001Flag
Xybernetic
lol someone actually said mass effect isnt a great game lol funny...aanyway mass effect would make a great film. Think star wars but with a different perspective.
2 years agoby @xyberneticFlag
Ryan Moran
no way looks awesome should be good reither james cameron or peterjackson to make it
2 years agoby @nightwing18Flag
Marston
James Cameron
2 years agoby @marstonFlag
Diaigma
Ah crap. Another game adaption.
Well, if the game wasn't that great to begin with, does that mean it could be a better movie? :P
2 years agoby @diaigmaFlag