6 Upcoming Video Game Movie and TV Adaptations We Can't Wait To See

pcmag.com:

It may come as a shock, but there was once a time when video games were considered unadaptable as hit movies. Constrained plots, nonsense celebrity casting, and cheesy dialogue were the norm for theatrical adaptations of massive, blockbuster titles, and they struggled to make their money back at the box office.

In 1993, the Super Mario Bros. movie set a precedent for future releases. Very loosely based on the Super Mario franchise, it starred Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi, respectively. The duo traveled to a dystopian cityscape in another dimension to help their friend, Daisy, who’d been kidnapped by its denizens and the evil King Koopa, played by Dennis Hopper. 

Siskel & Ebert(Opens in a new window) tore into the movie, criticizing it for a lack of compelling characters, a horrible story, and a severe misunderstanding of its target audience. They went so far as to say it was a complete waste of money. These same criticisms plagued other video game movies, such as 2005’s Alone in the Dark, a movie with so many flaws that it holds a solid 1% on Rotten Tomatoes(Opens in a new window).

However, we're now experiencing a video game adaptation renaissance. Arcane was based off the extremely popular League of Legends multiplayer game, and was nominated for two Emmy awards earlier this year. Sonic the Hedgehog was nominated for Family Movie of 2020 at the People’s Choice Awards. And Nintendo, despite being burned by the first Super Mario Bros. theatrical release, is once again(Opens in a new window) bringing the red-hatted plumber back to the silver screen. 

Many of Hollywood’s biggest studios are looking to jump on the video-game crossover bandwagon—so many that it’s hard to keep track. We’re here to let you