Elden Ring is getting a film adaptation helmed by Civil War director Alex Garland and produced by A24, the company responsible for countless modern classics like Moonlight, Hereditary, and Midsommar. George R. R. Martin is also attached to the project as a producer, and Garland has spoken at length about his deep love for and knowledge of the Elden Ring game, which apparently helped him score FromSoftware’s blessing. All of this is to say that the Elden Ring adaptation looks incredibly promising.
But like most video game adaptations, it is going to need to take some creative liberties, and it probably won’t have much to do with Elden Ring’s main story at all. Unlike games like The Last of Us, which quite easily translate to film/TV due to its story and atmosphere, Elden Ring is quite different. Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Demon’s Souls all push the player to piece the narrative puzzle together themselves. Elden Ring is about a nameless, voiceless hero traversing through an abstract and loosely defined world, so the movie needs to approach this world from a different angle, and Vyke might be the easiest answer here.
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Vyke the Dragonspear Is One of The Lands Between’s Most Legendary Heroes
Vyke is from Leyndell, the Royal Capital of The Lands Between, and was part of the Ancient Dragon Cult, which was led by Lansseax and Fortisax, alongside Godwyn the Golden, after the latter had brokered peace between the Ancient Dragons and the city. As one of the cult’s best knights, Vyke would “consort” with Lansseax, who was said to take the form of a human woman to confer special arcane knowledge to members of Leyndell’s knighthood.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Vyke would prove especially gifted in the art of dragon incantations, eventually making his own incantation called Vyke’s Dragonbolt, which the player can actually learn themselves. His skill seemed to endear him especially to Lansseax, who wound up considering him her favored knight. He had the makings of a truly legendary warrior, and so he underwent the journey to become Elden Lord, a rank which the followers of Marika consider to be of the utmost significance.
Vyke’s Downfall
What makes Vyke so compelling is his fundamentally tragic nature, stemming from the very journey that was meant to bring him glory. Vyke was initially quite successful in his attempt to ascend to Elden Lordship, acquiring two Great Runes before heading to the Erdtree itself. But when he got there, he learned that the interior of the Erdtree is blocked off by nigh-indestructible thorns—the same thing players eventually learn.
He followed the same path as the player-character, venturing to the Mountaintops of the Giants, but he ultimately refused to sacrifice his Maiden. However, he was informed of another option, possibly by Frenzied Flame agent Shabriri: seek the Three Fingers beneath Leyndell and become the Lord of Frenzied Flame. These Fingers would mark Vyke as “kindling,” allowing him to burn the Erdtree without sacrificing his Maiden. But Vyke could not fully accept the Fingers’ gift, potentially because he did not remove his armor before being embraced, and thus succumbed to Madness.
Because his transformation was incomplete, Vyke was unable to become the Lord of Frenzied Flame and wound up being trapped in an evergaol. This is where most players will encounter him, as a shell of his former self.
Why Vyke Would Make for a Compelling Elden Ring Movie Protagonist
By making Vyke the hero of the Elden Ring movie, there would be no need to make a stand-in for the player. Naturally, other cool Elden Ring characters could be the stars of this film, but Vyke is unique in that, while certainly powerful and full of spirit, he is ultimately inconsequential. He is the very definition of a hero, a beloved knight who is too pure of heart to sacrifice an innocent life to achieve his goals, whose virtue was his ultimate undoing. There are shades of Game of Thrones’ Ned Stark in this character: a man who may be “too good” for the brutal world he finds himself in.
Vyke is Elden Ring’s mascot, featured on the game’s cover art and several promotional pieces, making him an even more fitting role for the protagonist position.
At the same time, Vyke’s story has a lot of holes, as is generally the case with FromSoftware character lore. Players don’t fully understand, for example, his relationship with Lansseax, nor do we get confirmation of why he didn’t fully accept the Three Fingers’ gift. The prevailing assumption is that he left his armor on, but this seems questionable: if he were led to the Three Fingers’ by the Frenzied Flame’s influence, why wouldn’t that same influence instruct him to remove his armor? It’s an odd oversight for a force that’s otherwise so powerful.
These elements could be filled in by the Elden Ring movie, which would make it novel for both fans of the game and newcomers. The ambiguity of Vyke’s backstory also means that the adaptation can be more flexible with its writing, while still having a compelling, tragic protagonist.
- Released
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February 25, 2022
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
