I’m calling it: the Elden Ring movie will live up to the success of the Mario movies

As a gamer, I appreciate the current renaissance of video game adaptations. Whether it’s the new 3D animated film Super Mario Galaxy movie Or Sonic movies or award-winning TV series like The last of us, To fall And Cyberpunk: EdgerunnersHollywood is now full of creators who are actually fans of the games they adapt, a change from the 1990s, where licenses were often purchased solely to cash in on younger audiences.

Monday, A24 has revealed the cast of the live-action adaptation of Ancient Ring film which will be directed by Alex Garland (Civil War, Annihilation) and released on March 3, 2028. While this sounds promising on paper, it’s hard to ignore the scale of the challenge of adapting a game known for its personalityless protagonist, enigmatic lore, and multiple endings. Still, there’s reason to believe it could become one of the most successful video game adaptations.

For starters, A24, the studio behind the production, is known for acclaimed films such as The Brutalist, Moonlight and Everything Everywhere All at Once – all very different films following unique humanist visions. While the studio typically produces smaller films with a budget under $50 million, the Elden Ring film is expected to exceed a budget of $100 million.

Filming is already underway, and leaked photos show what appears to be a near-perfect recreation of the game’s locations and scenes. On Wednesday, a video uploaded to YouTube showed a crowd cheering during the hanging of a character known as Dung Eater, closely mirroring a moment from the game’s introductory cinematic.

Watching this short clip of a character who is not central to the story, yet is portrayed with such precision, is astonishing. However, my biggest concern is with the story of Elden Ring. Unlike some other adaptations currently in development, such as Death StrandingThe Legend of Zelda and Resident Evil, Elden Ring is just a game with DLC (Shadow of the Erdtree) and a multiplayer spin-off (Reign of the night). That’s it.

Despite this, developer FromSoftware packs an immense amount of lore into the game, but not in the traditional sense, through dialogue or readable documents. Instead, as in its other titles, the studio doles out details about the characters and the world through descriptions of items, weapons, armor, and spells.

This approach to worldbuilding, which FromSoftware first used in 2009’s Demon’s Souls, is like a puzzle. But instead of putting pieces together to form a picture, it’s about taking two or three sentences and constructing an entire book. Literally, fans who create YouTube videos about the history of the game are now publishing a 400-page book.

Not only is there a vast amount of lore to delve into, but the scope of Elden Ring is immense. The game’s main story follows the player character’s journey to becoming an Elder Lord in the Midlands, a god in mysterious and undying lands. This quest is shaped by the wars and betrayals that took place long before the events of the game. It plays out like a season of Game of Thrones, which is entirely appropriate given that George RR Martin helped develop the Elden Ring story.

Fortunately, we hope that director Alex Garland understands the mission when it comes to adapting Elden Ring. Unlike previous video game adaptations, where writers were often tasked with making sense of stories from games they hadn’t played and forcing them to play out within a 90-minute structure, this production is helmed by a fan of the game.

A New Yorker article on A24 last year recounted an anecdote involving Garland and Noah Sacco, the studio’s head of cinema. Sacco visited Garland, enthusiastic about the game, and proposed a film adaptation. Sacco approved the idea and Garland then wrote a 200-page script that included 40 pages of visuals. The two then traveled to Japan to seek approval from the game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki. Miyazaki was reportedly impressed by Garland’s knowledge of the game, having just completed it at least seven times – a daunting feat considering it takes 60 hours or more to complete.

We still don’t know what time period the Elden Ring movie will explore. One hypothesis is that it could serve as a prequel, focusing on the Shattering, the game’s historical event that set the stage for the game’s current story. An extensive story surrounds these events, and because FromSoftware leaves many details open to interpretation, Garland has the opportunity to develop a compelling narrative while remaining faithful to the source material.

Considering all the elements of this production, the elements are in place for a successful film. An award-winning studio makes one of its biggest investments in a video game adaptation, led by a devoted fan director. It has the approval of the game’s creator, who was not quick to grant the licensing rights, and Martin is also involved as a producer. The Elden Ring movie has the potential to be not only a worthy adaptation, but one of the best video game adaptations ever made.

At least, that’s the hope.

Oscar Gonzalez is a Texas native who has covered video games, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and cryptocurrency. See full biography