Let’s just get this out of the way right at the start: News about the Metal Gear Solid movie has really…kept you waiting, huh? Anyway, Sony has tapped the directing duo behind last year’s mega-hit Final Destination Bloodlines to develop a movie based on Hideo Kojima’s stealth-action masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid. If you’re getting a sense of deja vu, that’s because this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about an MGS movie from Hollywood.
On April 9, via The Hollywood Reporter, it was confirmed that Sony has signed a big first-look deal with filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein. The deal will include multiple upcoming projects from the duo’s newly formed production company, Wonderlab. And one of these planned movies includes the duo directing a Metal Gear Solid adaptation through Sony’s Columbia Pictures.
“Metal Gear Solid was nothing short of a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece that forever revolutionized video games,” said Lipovsky and Stein in a statement shared with the outlet. “We are thrilled and honored to bring Hideo Kojima’s iconic characters and unforgettable world to life.”
It’s still far too early to know when this movie might arrive, who will be in it, or any other details like that. It also doesn’t seem like Kojima will be involved with the production.
A history of Metal Gear movie news
You might be wondering, “Hey, wait a minute…wasn’t the director of Kong: Skull Island making a Metal Gear movie, and Oscar Isaac was tapped to star in it?” Your mind is playing tricks on you, as far as I know. Back in 2014, it was reported that Kong director Jordan Vogt-Roberts was attached to the project. And in 2020, it was rumored that Oscar Isaac was connected to the movie as well, likely to star as hero Solid Snake. But we’ve not really heard much about that version (those versions?) of the Metal Gear film for years now.
Today’s news from Sony and Columbia seems to indicate that those plans are dead and buried. Will this movie from Lipovsky and Stein actually get made? Historically, video game movie adaptations have a terrible track record when it comes to getting finished. However, we are in a new era where Mario is the star of the biggest film franchise around right now, and Fallout is one of the biggest shows on TV. So studios are very, very serious about turning games into movies and shows.
I’d bet a sweaty old bandana that Metal Gear Solid (the movie) happens one day in the not-so-distant future. Maybe with or without the Final Destination directors involved. But someday, you’ll get to see an actor say “Metal GEAR?!?” Mark my words.