After years of rumours and anticipation, Avalanche Studios’ explosive open-world series Just Cause is getting a new lease of life on the big screen.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Universal Pictures and Square Enix are teaming up for the live-action adaptation, with Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto at the helm. Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, the producing duo behind The Fall Guy, will produce through their company, 87North.
Also serving as producers are Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg and Timothy I. Stevenson of Story Kitchen, which is already involved in the video game space with Tomb Raider and Sonic the Hedgehog adaptations.
No story details or release date has been revealed, so it’s unclear if the Just Cause movie will feature an original story or adapt an existing plot. However, this update marks a major step forward for a project that has long been in gestation — word of a film adaptation, titled Just Cause: Scorpion Rising, first surfaced in 2010, but it never saw the light of the day.
Since then, the project has gone through multiple change of hands, from Brad Peyton (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Rampage) and Derek Kolstad (John Wick series) to Michael Dowse (FUBAR, FUBAR 2). Aquaman star Jason Momoa joined the cast at one point, though the main lead remains unclear for now.
Released in 2006, Just Cause follows gun-toting mercenary Rico Rodriguez on his quest to overthrow the governing body of each title’s setting. Players are able to utilise the character’s parachute, grappling hook, and wingsuit to navigate starting from the third game, offering plenty of opportunities for stunt work in the live-action iteration.
The Just Cause movie is the latest addition to the growing list of game-to-film adaptations. Recent examples include The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Five Nights at Freddy’s, with more due to arrive in the near future, including Sonic the Hedgehog 3, The Legend of Zelda, Mortal Kombat 2, and Minecraft films.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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