There has been countless movie and TV series adaptations of popular video games over the years. The more recent ones being Uncharted, Halo and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The thing about movie and TV series adaptions of video games is that they don’t always get them right.
Some are good adaptions while others have been forgotten over time (for very good reasons). But there’s still hope for an actual good adaptations of these beloved video games so let’s see which movies and TV series adaptations that are coming out later this year.
1. Untitled Super Mario Movie (December 2022)
The cast for the animated ‘SUPER MARIO BROS’ movie includes…
– Chris Pratt as Mario
– Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach
– Charlie Day as Luigi
– Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
– Keegan Michael-Key as Toad
– Jack Black as Bowser pic.twitter.com/mgVPIPC837— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 23, 2021
Starting off our list is a movie that has received some controversy for the casting of the main character Mario. The movie will be produced by Illumination in association with Nintendo, with distribution by Universal Pictures. It is the third feature film adaptation of Nintendo’s Mario video game series.
Fans were already excited and curious to find out if Mario’s English voice-actor Charles Martinet, who voiced Mario since 1992, would be reprising his role. To everyone’s surprise, MCU star Chris Pratt was announced as the voice of Mario. The movie is expected to be released in December 2022.
Update: It has since been postponed to 2023.
2. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners – Netflix Series (2022)
So many things to be said about the “Cyberpunk 2077” game that was released back in 2020. The video game was highly anticipated by fans worldwide but met with a disastrous launch due the game suffering from numerous bugs and performance issues, particularly on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.
But all is good now (we think) and it was announced back in November 2021 that the video game will have a Netflix anime adaptation series that is expected to arrive later this year in 2022.
3. Borderlands (Movie) (2022)
“Borderlands” is an action role-playing first-person looter shooter video game franchise set on the abandoned fictional planet of Pandora where people search for a mysterious relic. The movie is set to have the same setting as the video game.
“Borderlands” the movie will star Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart in the lead roles as Lilith and Roland, and will also include Jamie Lee Curtis and Jack Black. The movie is expected to be released by Lionsgate some time in 2022.
4. The Division (Movie) (2022)
“The Division” is a role-playing game released in March 2016 that is set in a near future New York City in the aftermath of a viral pandemic (sounds too close to home). In June 2016, it was announced that a movie adaptation is in the works.
The movie adaptation will star Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain. Netflix purchased the distribution rights to the upcoming movie, and will exclusively release the feature through its streaming service. The movie is set for a 2022 release.
5. Sonic Prime – Netflix Series (2022)
Check out this quick teaser of Sonic Prime, coming to @netflix! pic.twitter.com/rxdujSEtwu
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) May 3, 2022
Sonic Prime is an upcoming animated TV series based on the video game franchise. Although there is no specific release date, the series was announced back in January that it will be coming to the small screens in 2022 on Netflix.
Not much is known about the animated adaptation. Other than it being in pre-production, the animated series will feature 24 episodes that will focus on the journey of self-discovery and redemption of our favourite blue hedgehog. So far, no cast has been revealed by the production so we’re just going to have to wait.
6. Minecraft (Movie)(2022?)
We’re not entirely sure how this one will look like in movie form as it was said to be a live-action adaptation. But regardless, “Minecraft” is an all-time favourite by many gamers of all ages all over the world.
The movie was originally set for a 2022 release but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the release date is currently unknown but there is still a chance of it being released by the end of the year. To get more excited, it was recently announced that “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa will star in the movie.
Bonus
1. The Last Of Us – HBO Series (2023)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CR62qESFZzM/
We couldn’t possibly end this list without some honorable mentions. The “The Last Of Us” video game took the world by storm since its release back in 2013. The sequel was even voted as one of the top video games of 2020.
Fans were both excited and scared when it was announced that the video game series will have a TV series adaptation. The series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. The “The Last Of Us” series is expected to be released in 2023.
2. Assassin’s Creed – Netflix Series (TBA)
After the controversial movie adaptation starring Michael Fassbender in 2016 was released, fans were wondering if there was ever going to be a sequel for the movie based on the video game franchise. It is confirmed that there will be no movie sequel in the (near) future.
However, Netflix announced that there will be multiple series adaptation of the video game. Not much is known about the series in terms of plot or what they mean by “multiple” (it could be spin-offs) and casts for these series are yet to be revealed. Only time will tell.
