Upcoming Video Game Movies And TV Shows: The Adaptations Coming In 2024 And Beyond
For the longest time, the term “video game movie” was never synonymous with adjectives like good, enjoyable, or even faithful, but that has all changed in recent years with some great video game movies like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and shows like HBO’s The Last of Us. With the slate of upcoming video game movies and TV shows, it looks like the dark days of the poorly-received Max Payne, Resident Evil, and Prince of Persia adaptations are nothing more than a distant memory.
Throughout the next few years video game fans will be treated to some truly promising movies and TV shows adapting modern classics like Borderlands, The Sims, and (my personal favorite) Metal Gear Solid. With so much in the works, now is the perfect time to lay it all out and go through what’s set to be released very soon.
Borderlands - August 9, 2024
The Borderlands movie, which is based on the popular dystopian yet colorful first-person shooter game franchise, seems to be one of the more promising upcoming video game movies considering everyone involved. Written by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and directed by the great Eli Roth, the Borderlands cast includes Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black all playing iconic characters from the franchise. The action comedy will follow the central cast as they form an unexpected alliance to track down a missing girl and save her from the dangers of the mysterious planet when it hits the big screen on August 9th.
Arcane Season 2 - November 2024
After earning a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes upon its release in 2021, it should have been no surprise that Netflix’s Arcane would get a second season. Though we don’t know the exact release date for the hit animated series set in the League of Legends universe, Netflix has announced that the show will return at some point in November 2024. While we wait, you can catch up on all those Arcane Season 2 developments.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - December 20, 2024
Director Jeff Fowler proved that he could catch lightning in a bottle for a second time with the critically acclaimed and financially successful release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in April 2022, and now he’ll get a chance to do it all over again when the third installment in the franchise lands in theaters on December 20th. And the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cast is shaping up to be better than ever, with the return of Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik and the debut of Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog.
Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft - 2024
In the more than quarter-century since the first Tomb Raider game launched on PlayStation and Sega Saturn, the popular video game franchise has seen more than a dozen games (including a reboot) and multiple movies. Soon, fans of the game will get to experience Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, an upcoming Netflix original series. According to Deadline, the animated series, which will pick up after the events of the reboot trilogy, is slated for a 2024 release and will see Hayley Atwell voice the legendary video game character.
The Minecraft Movie - April 4, 2025
There has been talk of a Minecraft movie since at least 2014, at which point It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney was attached to direct and spearhead the adaptation of one of the most successful games of all time. In 2018, however, there was some bad news regarding the project when it was announced that McElhenney and Wonder Wonder scribe Jason Fuchs had left the project and that Warner Bros. was entertaining other ideas for the big-screen version of the open-world video game. Though plot details are non-existent at this stage, Warner Bros. has announced that the Jason Momoa-led movie will arrive in theaters on April 4, 2025.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 - Fall 2025
With the way Five Nights at Freddy’s ended and the massive financial success it experienced at the box office despite being released on Peacock day-and-date, it’s all but guaranteed that a sequel is on the way. We asked Matthew Lillard about the idea of returning for a sequel ahead of the film’s home release, and the Scream star had some ideas about where the franchise could go. In April 2024, Deadline reported that we will see the highly-anticipated Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 on the big screen in Fall 2025.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 - April 3, 2026
Well, it looks like we’ll all be returning to the Mushroom Kingdom, as the follow-up to Nintendo and Illumination’s box office smash hit, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been announced. There aren’t a lot of plot details about the upcoming animated movie at this time, but we do know the highly-anticipated The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 has a release date of April 3, 2026, which will be here before you know it.
The Sims Movie - TBD
The Sims, a game that some would consider impossible to turn into a movie for various reasons, is getting the big-screen treatment. In March 2024, Variety reported that Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap production company was spearheading an adaptation of the popular sandbox series with Loki director Kate Herron helming the project. Though details about The Sims movie are sparse at the time of this writing, expect that to change in the coming months.
Alan Wake TV Show - TBD
Video game developer Remedy has released its fair share of cinematic gaming experiences over the years with the likes of Max Payne, Control, and the Alan Wake franchise. And if all works out, it looks like we’ll be seeing an AMC TV show based on Alan Wake at some point in the future. In 2022, IGN reported that the cable network had picked up the rights to develop the game into a series. However, there haven’t been many details since then.
The Last Of Us Season 2 - TBD
Due to the resounding success of the show’s first chapter, it’s only a matter of time before The Last of Us Season 2 makes its way to HBO. Though no release date has been announced, Variety has revealed plans to start shooting in 2024 with a premiere slated for some point in 2025. The sophomore effort, which is believed to tackle at least a portion of The Last of Us Part II video game, will see the return of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s Joel and Ellie, respectively, as well as the debut of characters played by Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O’Hara.
Twisted Metal Season 2 - TBD
Peacock’s Twisted Metal helped make 2023 one of the best years for video game movies and shows, and the hilarious action series is coming back. When Michael Jonathan Smith brings his dark comedy series back for Twisted Metal Season 2 at some point soon, we’ll finally get to see Anthony Mackie’s John Doe and Stephanie Beatriz’s Quiet take part in the legendary Twisted Metal tournament.
The Witcher Season 4 - TBD
Fans of Netflix's The Witcher series were shocked in late 2022 when it was announced that Henry Cavill would no longer play Geralt after the show’s third season, with Liam Hemsworth taking over as the lead. While there has been no word on when The Witcher Season 4 will premiere, Netflix announced in January 2024 that legendary actor Laurence Fishburne had joined the cast as Regis.
The Legend Of Zelda - TBD
A little more than six months after The Super Mario Bros. movie dominated at the box office and became a hit with critics and fans alike, Nintendo announced that one of its other iconic franchises would be getting the big-screen treatment. The live-action Legend of Zelda movie is something fans have wanted for a long time, and at some point in the future, they’ll get just that. And no, it’s not like IGN’s 2008 April Fool’s Day trailer.
Death Stranding - TBD
The Death Stranding adaptation from A24 is one of those projects that makes perfect sense. The game’s creator, Hideo Kojima, has a long history of making cinematic experiences masquerading as video games with his Metal Gear Solid franchise, and the 2019 PlayStation was no different. It has been more than a year since Deadline first announced the video game adaptation, but details are still pretty much nonexistent. However, that could change in the coming months.
Until Dawn - TBD
Until Dawn, a 2015 PlayStation 4 exclusive that felt more like an interactive slasher film than a video game, is getting the big-screen treatment. In January 2024, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the Annabelle: Creation creative team – David F. Sandberg and Gary Dauberman – were in the process of adapting the game, which followed a group of friends trying to survive a deadly night at a remote cabin. No word on a cast yet, but the original game did feature performances from Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere.
Mortal Kombat 2 - TBD
Despite being one of the 2021 Warner Brothers movies that debuted on HBO Max the same time it opened in theaters, Mortal Kombat was a sizable box office success, meaning it was all but certain that a sequel would be on the way sooner rather than later. In July 2022, Deadline revealed that New Line had given the sequel the greenlight while also announcing that Simon McQuiod, who helmed the first movie, would be back in the director’s chair once again. No release date has been announced, but filming wrapped in January 2024, per Collider.
Bioshock - TBD
The sci-fi horror series Bioshock has always been a game franchise that would be well-suited to be adapted into a movie. A great setting with the underwater city of Rapture, a twist-heavy story, and those Big Daddies are just a few of the reasons that make a strong case for an adaptation.
Well, in August 2022, Netflix announced that Francis Lawrence would be directing the upcoming movie, which will be based on a script written by Michael Green, best known for scripting movies like Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and Jungle Cruise. When speaking with Collider in October 2023, Green revealed that he had been working with Lawrence and his team to refine a draft of the screenplay but there haven’t been any updates since.
God Of War - TBD
Just a few weeks after November 2022’s God of War Ragnarok was released on PlayStation consoles, Amazon Studios ordered a live-action series based on the popular action-adventure game, as reported by Variety. The upcoming Amazon original series will turn its focus to the 2018 soft-reboot of the property, which saw Kratos living in the Norse realm of Midgard after trying to escape his violent and heartbreaking past in ancient Greece.
Not long after the news broke, Amazon Studios’ Head of Television Vernon Sanders told Collider that the show would be “incredibly true to the source material,” while also being something that can be enjoyed by those who have yet to play the games.
Gears Of War - TBD
Gears of War, one of the most popular video game franchises on the Xbox family of consoles, will soon get not one, but two adaptations on Netflix – a live-action movie and an animated TV series. In November 2022, Netflix announced that the story of Delta Squad, which is led by the disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, would be at the center of the upcoming adaptations, but didn’t provide too many specific details about either property.
Maybe, just maybe Dave Bautista will get his wish and be added to the Gears of War cast at some point.
Assassin's Creed - TBD
Over the course of the past decade-plus, the Assassin’s Creed video game series from Ubisoft has become one of the most popular and expansive franchises on the market, with installments set everywhere from Renaissance-era Italy, ancient Egypt and Greece, and Norway during the time of the Vikings. Though the 2016 movie based on the games failed to capture the scope, scale, and fun of the source material, Ubisoft and Netflix have partnered up to give Assassin’s Creed another shot as a TV series.
At one point in time, Die Hard writer Jeb Stuart was attached as showrunner, but Collider revealed in January 2023 that Stuart had departed from the project.
Horizon 2074 - TBD
Another PlayStation-exclusive franchise, Horizon, will be turned into a Netflix series at some point in the future, as IGN revealed in May 2022. In January 2024, Sony revealed (via IGN) during its CES press conference that writing was currently underway on what will be called Horizon 2074.
Ghost Of Tsushima - TBD
In March 2021, Deadline revealed that John Wick director Chad Stahelski was in talks to bring the PlayStation-exclusive Ghost of Tsushima to the big screen, which was remarkable considering the franchise launched the previous summer.
There are many reasons to be excited about a Ghost of Tsushima movie, but Stahelski gave fans of the game even more reason to celebrate in October 2023 when he revealed a ton of new information about the adaptation.
Detective Pikachu 2 - TBD
Detective Pikachu is honestly one of the best video game adaptations ever released with the main reason being that instead of trying (and failing) to adapt a storyline from a specific game, it is set within the world of Pokémon. This element, combined with the touching father-son story at the center of the movie, makes Detective Pikachu 2 a no-brainer. However, nearly a half-decade later, the movie still has yet to materialize. The last update we received came in March 2023 when Deadline announced that Baskets creator Jonathan Krisel had signed on to direct the long-planned sequel.
Metal Gear Solid - TBD
The Metal Gear Solid movie is another video game adaptation that has long been in the works and highly anticipated by fans of the series started by Hideo Kojima more than 30 years ago. And while there have been rumors, starts and stops, and other issues over the years, the project picked up steam in late 2020 when it was announced that Oscar Isaac was cast as Solid Snake, but there haven’t been any updates since.
Be on the lookout for more information about these upcoming adaptations (and more to come) by checking out our 2024 movie schedule and breakdown of the 2024 TV calendar.
