Roger Avary, the co-writer of "Pulp Fiction" and the writer/director behind "Killing Zoe," is now writing and will soon be directing a movie based on the famed 2001 game "Return to Castle Wolfenstein."
According to an announcement from Panorama Media and producer Samuel Hadida, the adaptation will be an action-adventure movie "in the vein of 'Captain America' and 'Inglorious Basterds.' "
Hadida, who also produced the movie adaptations of the "Resident Evil" and "Silent Hill" video games, told Forbes that Avary (who won an Academy Award for his writing in "Pulp Fiction") has been working with id Software (the developers behind the Nazi-hunting first-person shooter) on the screenplay.
Hadida said the movie will star the game's protagonist — B.J. Blazkowicz — and should be ready for theaters in two years.
The film is described in a press release:
The story follows a young US Army Captain and a British Special Agent on a top secret mission to Castle Wolfenstein, where Hitler will be for the unveiling of a new secret weapon. After reaching the Castle, our heroes are confronted with Himmler’s SS Paranormal Division and must fight, not only for their survival, but for a mission that could alter the course of the War.
This isn't the first time writer/director Avary has been involved in a video game adaptation. He also wrote the 2006 "Silent Hill" film. And it appears he's also a gamer.
"I've been playing the Wolfenstein games games since I was a kid, and feel that their outlandish sensibility has deeply influenced my own writing and directing throughout my career," he said in the movie announcement. "I have always thought Wolfenstein transformed and opened for the screen to wider audiences not familiar with the games, would be a major cinematic experience, which is why I introduced it to Samuel. He bought the rights, and I could not be happier that we are now embarking on this adventure."
Alas, Hadida's most recently produced game adaptation — "Silent Hill: Revelation" — has been widely panned and currently holds a score of 14 out of 100 on Metacritic. Yeeowch. Of course, that's usually the case with video game/film adaptations. They are rarely what you might call good.
But if you haven't been a fan of the Hadida-produced game adaptations that have made their way to theaters in the past, note that he told Forbes, "This movie is going to deliver a much different feeling than other game adaptations we’ve done."
— Via Forbes
Winda Benedetti writes about video games for NBC News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things on Twitter here @WindaBenedetti and you can follow her on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IN-GAME FACEBOOK PAGE to discuss the day's gaming news and reviews.