Call of Duty franchise is set to get its first live action movie

Paramount Pictures and Activision have officially teamed up to produce a live-action feature film based on the Call of Duty video game series. The announcement comes at a time when videogame adaptations have taken off in a big way. Films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie have kept cinemas occupied, while OTT shows like The Last of Us, Arcane, and Fallout have received very positive reviews.

An exciting time to be a video game adaptation fan

The news is a big deal especially since it involves Paramount, the studio responsible for action blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible. The studio will develop, produce, and distribute the movie, aiming to capture the magic of a franchise that has dominated popular culture for over two decades. Hollywood may have finally starting taking gaming properties seriously.

The people in charge are making some pretty big promises. Paramount CEO David Ellison, a self-proclaimed lifelong fan who has spent “countless hours” playing the games, stated this project is a “dream come true”. He assured fans that his team is approaching the film with the same “uncompromising commitment to excellence” that guided their work on Top Gun: Maverick.

ALSO READ: Call of Duty x Squid Game crossover announced

At the same time, Activision President Rob Kostich echoed this sentiment, adding that the goal is to create an “unforgettable blockbuster” that honours what has made the series great while translating its “visceral, breathtaking action” to the big screen for both longtime players and newcomers.

Given that the franchise has seen 23 main entries since its debut in 2003, the creative team has an enormous amount of source material to pull from. Tthe film could also be set literally anywhere—both in terms of place and time.

It might revisit the brutal World War II battlefields of the original games, dive into the Cold War conspiracies of the Black Ops saga, tackle the geopolitical conflicts of Modern Warfare, or even explore the near and far future settings of Infinite and Advanced Warfare instalments.

Of course, given that this is all still early stage, no cast members or specific plot details have been announced yet. But you can bet we’ll be learning more soon. Meanwhile, the gaming franchise itself keeps rolling, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 set to launch on November 14.