Oscar Isaac might be one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, exploding onto the scene less than a decade ago before quickly becoming one of the industry’s most in-demand talents. But he likes to mix up his intense character-driven work with some detours into big-budget escapism.
Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, his role as Poe Dameron in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, the titular villain in the disappointing X-Men: Apocalypse, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Disney Plus series Moon Knight are just some of his studio-backed efforts. For his next big role, however, Isaac is crossing over into the realms of video game adaptations to headline Metal Gear Solid.
In a new interview, Isaac explained what drew him to the project in the first place, which has had writer and director Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached since early 2014, although the filmmaker didn’t settle on his Solid Snake until December of last year.
“I love the feeling that the game would give me every time I’d play. It’s just a strangely isolated, mournful, lonely game to play that has these incredible moments of violence and terror, with these weird, psychedelic concepts and villains. But, yes, it’s kind of like psychedelic military horror things that happen.”
It has been a long time coming, and the video game genre is still very hit-or-miss, but the combination of Kong: Skull Island‘s Vogt-Roberts behind the camera and Isaac in front of it is more than enough talent to ensure that Metal Gear Solid should avoid the many pitfalls similar titles based on console favorites have fallen into over the years.
