Hollywood has been hungrier than usual for game-to-movie adaptations in recent years. Movies and TV shows adapted from video games haven't been well received by film critics or audiences. It's often difficult to relay a game's mechanics onto the silver screen, but these days technology allows filmmakers the ability to do so.
Although they haven't always seen the best of light, a few made quite the impact on fans, such as Silent Hill, Detective Pikachu, and Mortal Kombat. The popularity growth in the global box offices for these movies will surely continue as more are made. With Super Mario Bros. and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves coming soon to theaters, the audience will get to enjoy their favorite games on the big screen.
1 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023)
As a high-grossing game franchise, Super Mario characters are coming to the screen. With the new Super Nintendo World opening in 2023 in Universal Studios Hollywood, fans are extremely excited for what's to come. It follows Mario as he teams up with Toad and Princess Peach to save his brother, Luigi, and the entire Mushroom Kingdom from King Bowser.
The development has been in the works since 2017. With the backing of Illumination Studio's success with Despicable Me, the directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic announced a full cast, including Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, and Anya Taylor Joy as Princess Peach. Fans can head to the theaters on April 7, 2023, to follow the adventures of the Mario brothers and company!
2 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' (2023)
The loyal fans of this classic tabletop game, Dungeons & Dragons, hope to see this movie filled with its classic spells, tropes, and more. In the original game, players form an adventuring party to explore fantasy worlds brimming with epic quests and the ability to level up in experience.
Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Daley, the film follows a group of thieves: a bard, barbarian, sorcerer, and druid who try to steal a lost relic and simultaneously save the world. The cast includes some big names in Hollywood, such as Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Hugh Grant. The first trailer finally hit the media, allowing fans to experience this story on the silver screen on March 31, 2023.
3 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' (2024)
Sonic the Hedgehog is a classic franchise in which the player plays as Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who moves at supersonic speeds and fights the evil mad scientist Doctor Eggman. Sonic has already hit theaters with two movies loved by its fans and became hits at the global box office.
The plot for the threequel has not been announced other than a vague synopsis of "running faster, flying higher, and punching harder," as stated on their official Twitter page. The sequel end credit teaser shows Sonic and Tails soon facing one of their greatest challenges, Shadow the Hedgehog. This highly anticipated movie will be released on December 20, 2024, likely concluding the series.
4 'Return to Silent Hill'
With the news of the sequel, Return to Silent Hill, fans are eager to watch it, especially with the original Silent Hill being a classic hit. This movie will be an adaptation of Konami's Silent Hill 2, which follows James Sunderland as he travels to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife, who is waiting for him.
The announcement of Christophe Gans, director of its 2006 original movie, returning for the sequel leaves fans wanting more. The team hopes to add a modern take but stay true to the game's original plot with a few familiar monsters. With the movie still developing, production will begin in February and an expected completion date in late 2023.
5 'Minecraft: The Movie'
Minecraft became a sensation after its debut in 2011, making it a perfect adaptation. This sandbox game allows players the creativity to survive, craft, and explore randomly generated maps. The developer, Mojang, introduced an initial synopsis of a teenager adventuring through the blocky landscape, but with many changes since then, there are no details regarding its official plot.
Fans looked forward to its theatrical release on March 2022, but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed it indefinitely. As production continues, the team and director, Jared Hess, hired Jason Momoa as Gabriel, the warrior from Minecraft's spin-off game, Minecraft: Story Mode. With no official timeline, one can only be hopeful for an update soon.
6 'The Mortuary Assistant'
Within a month of its release, The Mortuary Assistant quickly gained traction as a top seller on Steam. Its publisher, DreadXP and Epic Pictures Group, decided to make a movie companion piece alongside the game. It gives players an in-depth horror experience with many ways to scare them and five endings to achieve. The player character is a young Mortician, Rebecca, who is tasked with fighting River Fields mortuary's demonic presence and surviving the night.
Similar to other adaptations, it won't be easy to create the same mechanics working exactly like the game. The game's creator, Brian Clarke, hopes to have the movie as realistic but as close to its game features as possible. No release date has been announced, but Jeremiah Kipp will direct and script this upcoming movie.
7 'Borderlands'
Lionsgate Films' long-in-the-works project is coming to fruition with the development of a movie adaptation of the first-person RPG, Borderlands. The premise will be based on the original plot: Lilith allies with a mercenary, a pre-teen demolitionist, a protector, a scientist, and a robot to battle alien monsters and crazed bandits to find the missing daughter, Atlas.
After years of silence, it was announced in 2022 that Eli Roth would be directing the movie Borderlands with a star-studded cast: Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, Jack Black as Claptrap, and Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis. The weeks of re-shoots leave the fans waiting longer for a theatrical release. The film has been wrapped since June 2021, yet there is no telling when it will hit the theaters.
8 'Ghost of Tsushima'
The 2020 award-winning video game Ghost of Tsushima is getting its own movie with Sony Pictures and PlayStation productions. The original game follows Jin Sakai, a samurai on a quest to protect Tsushima Island during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. In March 2021, it was officially announced that it's currently in development with John Wick's director Chad Stahelski.
Although there haven't been many details regarding the project, it is based on the original story of the game, possibly involving the real-life Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274 CE. The director plans to have the cast and movie language be in Japanese and will be written by Takashi Doscher. There is no update as far as a possible release window or cast announcement.
9 'BioShock'
BioShock has gained millions of fans over the years since its release in 2007. This critically acclaimed first-person RPG series is set in 1960, where Jack, the lone survivor of an overseas plane crash, discovers an abandoned underwater utopia and finds out its sinister origins
After failed attempts to bring this series into theaters, Netflix announced the production of this project with Blade Runner 2049 writer Michael Green and I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence. Despite the lack of recent news, there is still extreme interest in this movie.
10 'Pac-Man'
The classic arcade game, Pac-Man, has the player control Pac-Man as he munches his way through an enclosed maze to eat all the dots while simultaneously avoiding deadly ghosts. Although Pac-Man has made an appearance in movies such as Pixels and Wreck-It Ralph, this will be his first solo live-action movie.
Its publisher, Bandai Namco, teams up with Wayfarer Studios to create an original idea from Sonic the Hedgehog's Chuck Williams for the untitled movie. The details are very limited with such recent news, but there is high anticipation for an announcement any day now.