‘Avengers’ like universe
With how popularCall of Dutyis amongchildren, you’d think Activision would want to capitalize on that success with some films. If Michael Bay can repeat the same made up military nonsense for all of his movies, why not take the gaming equivalent and blow it up on the big screen? It looks like our nightmares are about to become real, as Activision Blizzard Studios has announced that they have plans to expand the franchise beyond gaming.
Speaking withThe Guardian, the co-presidents of Activision Blizzard (Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk) detailed that they would like to start their plan with a single film to gauge success. If that movie proves profitable, then follow-ups can be made. They “have plotted out many years” ofCall of Dutyfilms; I feel sick even typing this.
As Sher notes, “We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more likeBlack Ops, the story behind the story. TheModern Warfareseries looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.”
Van Dyk adds, “It’s going to have the same sort of high-adrenaline, high-energy aesthetic as the game, but it’s not a literal adaptation. It’s a much more broad and inclusive, global in scope … a big, tentpole Marvel-esque movie.” As the article notes, Van Dyk was one of the key players in Disney’s acquisition of Marvel andStar Warsand helped push plans for future development of those franchises forward, so he obviously knows what he is doing.
As with anything popular, there are inevitably copycats who will try to repeat it. Marvel found wild success with their “Cinematic Universe,” so now most Hollywood studios are trying the same thing. More power to people who actually enjoyThe Fast and the Furious, but I was never clamoring to have those films all linked together. I also don’t care about Universal Monsters or anything DC Comics is doing.
I also don’t know howCall of Dutycan even work as a film. Sure, big budget spectacle is always a thing that is good for a laugh, but the reason interconnected universes work is because there is something to care about. People don’t watch a Marvel film solely for the action (mostlybecauseit sucks); they come to see the drama between Iron Man and Captain America and how it is impacting the characters they’ve grown to love.Call of Dutyhas none of that personal involvement.
If you’re interested in reading more about this newCall of Dutyfilm series, you can check out the interview onThe Guardian. There is also talk of a TV series (like Marvel has with Netflix) and the overseas success ofWarcraft‘s film adaptation.
Could theCall of Dutyfranchise be the next Marvel?[The Guardian]
