Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg showed interest in creating a film based on the Call of Duty franchise, but the project did not materialize, presumably due to his desire for complete creative control.
As reported by Matthew Belloni of Puck, Spielberg, through his production company Amblin, attempted to launch a Call of Duty movie with Universal. Alongside Universal film boss Jimmy Horowitz, he pitched the project to Activision, but an agreement was not reached.
According to the report, Spielberg himself is a big fan of the Call of Duty series. However, his demands proved to be an obstacle to the project`s realization. His team insisted on a “top-of-market” economic deal, full control over production and marketing, and the right to “final cut.” “Final cut” in Hollywood parlance means the director has the ultimate say in the editing process, determining the final version of the film released to theaters. Spielberg is among a select few directors granted this privilege, alongside Quentin Tarantino and James Cameron.
Spielberg`s demands reportedly “spooked” Activision representatives, now owned by Microsoft. However, the exact timeline for when Spielberg pitched his Call of Duty project is not specified, and it`s unknown what other factors might have contributed to the rejection.
Currently, a Call of Duty film is in development at Paramount, with a potential TV series to follow. David Ellison, the new head of Paramount following his company Skydance`s recent acquisition of the media giant, stated in the Call of Duty announcement that he is a huge fan of the franchise and is eager to bring a faithful adaptation to the screen. The Puck report indicates that Ellison`s proposal offered Activision “much more control over the process.”
The Call of Duty film is still in its early stages of production, with no information yet on the director or cast.
Activision has tried for years to create a Call of Duty movie. In 2015, the company established Activision Blizzard Studios and announced plans to build an entire Call of Duty cinematic universe. At the time, the team stated they had planned “many years” of films based on Call of Duty sub-brands like Modern Warfare and Black Ops, but none ever came to fruition. Stefano Sollima (director of Sicario: Day of the Soldado) was at one point attached to direct one of the Call of Duty films, with Oscar-nominated writer Scott Silver signed on to write the screenplay.
While Spielberg won`t be directing the Call of Duty film, he has experience with video game adaptations: he and Amblin produced the Halo TV series. The series ran for two seasons and 17 episodes before being canceled. He was reportedly “heavily involved” in the series, examining “every aspect” of it.
In the world of video games themselves, Spielberg created the Medal of Honor series, a precursor to Call of Duty. Spielberg also directed the 2008 puzzle game Boom Blox. Looking back further, Spielberg directed the movie E.T., which was adapted into a video game so notoriously bad that its publisher famously buried copies of it in the desert.