Sometimes there are good ideas for movie adaptations and other times there are great ideas that having been in plain sight patiently waiting to be produced. While it has been documented how disastrous the track record is for live-action video game movies, yes we are looking at you Super Mario Bros and Double Dragon. The genre has taken enough abuse for those early failures and studios are finally seeing the wisdom in trying to producing the first bonafide video game film blockbuster, such as with the upcoming Uncharted or Assassin’s Creed, instead of stewing on past failures. One property from the glory days of Nintendo that is being developed for Hollywood stardom is Capcom’s Mega Man.
The story centers on, Mega Man, a robot created by the benevolent Dr. Light to battle the terrorism of the evil Dr. Wily and his army of killer robots. The charm and originality of the game lied in the well-defined characters and robots that were created. The game also introduced graphics, visuals, and game mechanics that were revolutionary at the time. After Mega Man defeated other robots, he was able to reformat his own programming to mimic his weapons after theirs.
The tone of the Mega Man film will determine if it is another Dragonball, or if it can transcend and become legit a blockbuster. The building blocks are all there for an unique experience, but it certainly will take a passionate screenwriter and visionary director to successfully bring this to the screen. But the risk & reward factor on this movie is through the roof. There is a library of potential robotic designs and creatures within the game series, that have not been seen in live-action before. And if they are able to create a unique universe, there is the potential for a huge franchise.
According to Tracking Board, 20th Century Fox is developing the property with Chernin Entertainment, who are looking to latch on to the next great wave of film adaptations. Fox has shown that they don’t shy away from taking mature looks at action franchises. You need to look no further than the X-Men franchise, Planet of the Apes reboot, or even the Fantastic Four, to see their approach to their geek properties.
Although Mega Man has managed to subtly hang around in the popular consciousness in various cartoon and game appearances. It has been decades since a Mega Man game has been a significant player in the game industry, so it will be interesting how this project develops for the big screen. It’s in the very earliest stages of development, so we will tracking its progress.
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Source: Slashfilm