Adapting video games into movies and series doesn’t always go well, but Netflix have scored some recent successes with the likes of Castlevania and (technically) The Witcher. And now, it seems that the streaming platform are investing in the genre in a significant way, with several notable productions in development as part of their large slate of new content. What titles, then, should we be looking forward to?
Well, first up, Resident Evil is coming to the service via Supernatural producer Andrew Dabb. This adaptation has been on the cards for some time and fans are already pretty excited about it. Rather than work with a single storyline, though, Resident Evil will apparently create its own world that incorporates elements from the franchise and will take place in two different timelines.
Another program coming to the streamer is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a spinoff of the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game from CD Projekt Red. There’s also going to be a Dark Horse comic tie-in, with the Netflix version being an animated story told across ten episodes. The studio behind Live Witch Academia and Promare are in charge of this one.
And although there hasn’t been much news recently on the former, we should also eventually get an animated Devil May Cry from the same creator as Castlevania. Other animated projects, meanwhile, include The Cuphead Show!, likely to release next year.
Material derived from Tom Clancy will also get live-action versions in the future, including a Splinter Cell show and a feature film version of The Division, which will be helmed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2). Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain are among the A-list talent attached to the movie, with a due date of roughly 2022. In addition to that, Netflix will presumably be throwing a lot of their budget at a planned Final Fantasy series, reportedly set within the world of Final Fantasy XIV.
So, there you have it, a lot of major video game adaptations that will likely be coming to our screens in 2021 and 2022, COVID-19 delays permitting. Which of these Netflix originals are you most intrigued by, though, and do you think that they can pull off translating the games to new formats? As ever, let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.