A movie based on Activision’s Call of Duty series is in the works now at Paramount, which is now led by billionaire and Call of Duty superfan David Ellison. Prolific writer and director Taylor Sheridan is writing the script for the film, with Lone Survivor director Peter Berg attached to direct.
Activision had been trying to make Call of Duty movies for years, so why is it finally happening now? Xbox boss Matt Booty told Variety that “a relationship came about” between people at Paramount and senior executives working on Call of Duty. “They felt like they found a partner who understands the game, people who play the game, and shared a vision of what it could be to bring that forward,” Booty said.
Activision originally announced it would make Call of Duty movies through its Activision Blizzard Studios label that was formed in 2015, led by Hollywood producers Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk, and charged with adapting Activision Blizzard’s franchises for film and TV. A Call of Duty movie universe was planned at one point, but, as often happens in Hollywood, nothing ever happened.
Also in the interview, Booty stressed that the proposal to make a Call of Duty movie came from “the game team” and not as part of an “abstract” and “detached” process.
There isn’t much we know about the plot for the Call of Duty movie as of yet, but Booty said he feels confident that Sheridan–one of the best-known, most profilic writers in all of Hollywood–will find a good story to tell.
“I think that the team feels that he’s got a good approach to characters and a good approach to story that’ll match up with their vision of what a Call of Duty movie [is],” Booty said.
The Call of Duty franchise has been around for 20 years, and the series tells all kinds of different stories throughout its different sub-brands, including Modern Warfare and Black Ops. This is a challenge, but also an opportunity, Booty said.
“There’s two decades of Call of Duty–where do you start? Which character do you pick from which branch of the franchise? And so the team has got a vision where they want to go, and I think Taylor Sheridan will be a good match for what they’ve got in mind,” Booty said.
Recently, Activision sent out a survey asking fans to rank what they want the Call of Duty film to be inspired by. The choices include Black Ops, Modern Warfare, Zombies, or something other than Black Ops or Modern Warfare. Alternatively, Activision wants to know if people would instead want a totally new Call of Duty story to serve as the inspiration for the movie.
It’s still early days for the Call of Duty movie, and there is no word yet on a cast or release date. The newest entry in the series is Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, a game that failed to match the sales success of Black Ops 6 in some regards, prompting Activision to announce a major shift for the series.
