Mass Effect game to become a movie

26 May 2010

John Howell

BioWare has announced that Legendary Pictures studio will be producing a movie version of BioWare's science fiction game Mass Effect. Mass Effect is an epic SF action adventure set in 2183, focusing on a human soldier and his starship called the SSV Normandy. The game is essentially a space opera involving a long-extinct race of aliens, dormant beacons and multiple alien entanglements. Sounds like the writers will have plenty of scope to adapt the game in any way they see fit. From what I've seen of the game, the visuals should be a great foundation for some impressive special effect landscapes and alien architecture.

Mass Effect was originally released on Microsoft's XBox 360 and then made its way to the PC. There's even material for a second movie as a critically acclaimed sequel, Mass Effect 2, was released 26 January 2010. The sequel takes place two years after the events in the first game.

According to Variety, Mark Protosevich, the writer responsible for the adaptation of Will Smith's I Am Legend, is in talks to write the screenplay. Protosevich has also been working on the upcoming Marvel comic film Thor directed by Kenneth Branagh. Legendary's Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce the film with Avi and Ari Arad.

Tull said Mass Effect was "ripe for translation," adding it had "depth, compelling characters and an engaging back story." Arad said the game was "a parable whose conflicts mirror the ones we currently face in our own world. This story emphasises the need for all cultures to learn to work together."

Not many games successfully make the transition from the small screen to the big, with the exception of the recent Prince of Persia (read our review here), I can't think of any. Doom was pretty awful and the Tomb Raider films less than average.

I've added a trailer for the second game, Mass Effect 2, below.

Electronic Arts bought BioWare in 2008.

{qtube vid:=jLhptv1yYMU}