Usually, game developers and publishers take a hands-off approach to their game’s movie adaptation. Sometimes, this is done to give the filmmakers free rein. In other cases, it’s just a matter of apathy, like Nintendo and the 1993 Super Mario Bros.
However, the opposite is true for some movie adaptations. Often, the creators can be protective of their game’s story or want to have some hand in the film’s adaptation. There are plenty of video game movies that have developers exercise a heavy hand on their creations’ jump to the big screen.
10 Batman: Assault On Arkham Was Set In The Arkham Universe
Set between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum, this direct-to-video movie showed the supervillains’ last crimes before everyone was sent to Arkham City. Assault On Arkham starred returning Arkham voice actors, incorporated the games’ character designs, and referenced the Arkham games’ events.
That being said, Assault On Arkham could be decanonized by the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. Besides taking place after the trilogy finale Arkham Knight, Assault On Arkham’s biggest contradictions are Captain Boomerang and King Shark. Not only do they look and act differently, but they were left for dead in Assault On Arkham.
9 Far Cry 5: Inside Eden’s Gate Set Up The Game’s Events
Far Cry 5 opened with US Marshalls (including the player’s unnamed character) serving an arrest warrant for Joseph Seed. Joseph is the devilish leader of a doomsday cult known as Eden’s Gate. The authorities were acting on a tip from an unspecified source. According to the short movie Inside Eden’s Gate, this information came from three missing vloggers.
Made to coincide with the game’s release, Inside Eden’s Gate followed Alex, Hannah, and Sara as they infiltrated Eden’s Gate to search for their friend’s missing sister. Unfortunately, they all died and clues to their fates are scattered across the game. Inside Eden’s Gate wasn’t just produced by Ubisoft, but it also featured Greg Bryk reprising his as role Joseph in live-action.
8 Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Introduced Master Chief’s Rescuers
Halo 4 began with the UNSC Infinity picking up a distress call from the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. This is the ship that Master Chief and Cortana were last seen in during Halo 3’s epic finale. Throughout Halo 4 and its co-op missions Spartan Ops, the Infinity’s commander Thomas Lasky was often ordered to hinder Master Chief. He chooses not to.
Lasky’s loyalty to Master Chief (plus Cortana’s degrading state) was revealed in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Forward Unto Dawn showed Lasky’s origins and allegiance to the legendary Spartan. Produced in part by Microsoft and 343 Industries, Forward Unto Dawn first aired as a five-part miniseries on YouTube before its extended cut was released on video.
7 The Dead Rising Movies Filled In The Gaps Between Games
When Dead Rising 2 and 3 came along, many fans were annoyed by the sudden disappearance of the snarky photojournalist hero, Frank West. Capcom answered the mystery about Frank’s whereabouts with Dead Rising: Watchtower, which followed Frank during the two sequels.
Watchtower’s sequel Endgame doesn’t feature Frank, but started right where Watchtower ended. Watchtower and Endgame fleshed out Dead Rising’s world and revealed who was orchestrating the zombie outbreaks. Both movies were greenlit and produced by Capcom, and they streamed exclusively on the now-defunct Crackle.
6 Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Was The Classic Game’s Canon Continuation
When Square Enix and the digital animation studio Visual Works were working on the Compilation Of Final Fantasy VII collection, they planned to add an animated short that showed what happened after Final Fantasy VII. Upon hearing fans’ support and desire for more, the team decided to stretch the short to feature-length.
The result was Advent Children, which was also penned by the game’s head writer Kazushige Nojima. Despite mixed reviews, Advent Children became one of Final Fantasy’s most beloved additions. Advent Children is canon, as seen in the many references Final Fantasy VII: Remake made. This includes the implication that its Sephiroth is the one seen in Advent Children.
5 The Pokémon Company Played A Big Role In Detective Pikachu’s Development
The Pokémon Company has been trying to make a Pokémon movie for years. They finally succeeded with Detective Pikachu. They had no intention of adapting any pre-existing storylines, as they wanted to make Detective Pikachu stand out.
References to Ash Ketchum and Professor Oak were forbidden, especially since the latter’s preferred casting choice (Robin Williams) passed away. The filmmakers worked with many of the games’ original developers, including longtime artist Ken Sugimori (whose art can be seen in the ending credits) and the company’s official Pokémon Experts.
4 Capcom Dictated Which Characters Should Be In Street Fighter (1994)
As much of a guilty pleasure as it is today, one of Street Fighter’s biggest detriments was its crowded cast. If writer/director Steven E. de Souza had his way, he would’ve only used 7 characters from Street Fighter II. Capcom, meanwhile, mandated that he use 15 fighters. This resulted in rushed story arcs and little screen time for them.
Capcom’s other demands included Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kenya Sawada being cast as Guile and Ken respectively. De Souza pushed back on the latter. Van Damme became Guile, while Sawada was given a new character, Capt. Sawada. Reportedly, Van Damme and Raul Julia ate up most of the casting budget.
3 Capcom Reportedly Didn’t Want A Faithful Resident Evil Movie
Originally, Capcom and Constantin Film chose George A. Romero to adapt the hit zombie series Resident Evil. Romero wrote a faithful script that, while praised, would land an NC-17 rating that producers didn’t want. Additionally, Capcom reportedly didn’t want a one-to-one adaptation that might accidentally overshadow the games.
Producers moved on to Paul W.S. Anderson, a proud Resident Evil fan who also didn’t want a direct adaptation. Instead, he pitched an original story to give fans and newcomers something new. As polarizing as Anderson’s take was, Capcom liked his work so much that he became the series’ de facto head and even adapted Capcom’s Monster Hunter later.
2 Vince Desi Beat Up Uwe Boll In Postal
When Running With Scissors was in the middle of making Postal 2, the infamous Uwe Boll proposed a film adaptation. Despite Boll’s abysmal track record, RWS president Vince Desiderio felt that Boll complimented Postal‘s anarchic and anti-establishment tone.
Desi and Postal 2 director Steve Wik wanted a dark retelling of The Postal Dude’s rampage. Boll opted for a deliberately offensive comedy to get “revenge” against his critics. Though his initial idea was rejected, Desiderio still supported Postal and joined the cast as Krotchy, the genitalia-shaped mascot who attacked Boll in the name of video games.
1 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Was Square’s First And Last Attempt At Filmmaking
One of the biggest criticisms against The Spirits Within was how it was Final Fantasy in name only, even though it was made by the JRPG’s head developer and publishers. In the late ’90s, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi wanted to make his feature film debut. Square supported him with their new in-house film division, Square Pictures.
Despite its thematic parallels to Final Fantasy and groundbreaking animation, The Spirits Within was a box office bomb. Sakaguchi resigned from Square shortly after, and Square shut down Square Pictures. Square was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and was forced to merge with Enix, thus becoming Square Enix.
About The Author
