Ben Wheatley, most recently named as director on The Meg 2, is interested in adapting the Doom and Counter-Strike games as films.
"Video games and films are so intertwined, aren't they? Because they feed backwards and forwards in terms of their referencing, it's tricky," Wheatley said on the latest Playlist podcast. "The things you think are original about the movies of games are from the films often, so when you take away the interactive element of it, there's not much left to it. I still want to make a Doom film, though. I know it's been done but come on. Or Counter-Strike, that would be the one I'd like to make."
Most recently, Wheatley directed the fairly well-received horror film In the Earth. He was previously on board to direct the Tomb Raider 2 remake before its production was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he's still open to video game films.
As Wheatley notes, Doom actually received a film adaptation way back in 2005, and perhaps as a result of borrowing elements from Doom 3 – generally regarded as the black sheep of the series – it turned out a bit, uh, wonky. However, the series' story has really come into its own in the past few years thanks to the surprisingly interesting lore in the backdrop of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, with the latter going especially deep on the history of the Doom Slayer himself. I could definitely see the events of Doom Eternal on the big screen, and it'd be a good home for the energy it must take to direct a sequel to a dumb-fun action movie like The Meg.
Counter-Strike is a more peculiar pick since the series' best-known entry, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, is better known for its multiplayer than its story. That said, given the wealth of games in the series, I suppose it could be the foundation for some sort of military or espionage thriller. Perhaps we'll find out if Wheatley ever gets his chance.
Speaking of video game movies: it sounds like the Saints Row movie will lean on The Warriors as well as Escape from New York.
