With the latest Lara Croft movie officially underway, it's an exciting time for video game and movie fans alike, and Tomb Raider isn't the only franchise that's getting the Hollywood treatment. Out of the hundreds of thousands of films currently in development, a pretty large portion of them are actually adaptations of (mostly) successful video games.
Whether this is a good thing or not is somewhat debatable — blockbusters like Prince of Persia and Doom aren't a patch on the original worlds that inspired them — but you can't deny that it's always fascinating to see our favorite franchises translated onto the silver screen.
We can only hope that the upcoming releases are faithful and worthy of the established names they've been given but for better or for worse, we'll be front seat at the cinema anyway. Here's everything that's coming up.
1. Ratchet and Clank — April 29, 2016
Sony, Focus Features
Ratchet & Clank tells the story of two unlikely heroes as they struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek (Paul Giamatti) from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet (James A. Taylor) is the last of his kind -- a foolhardy "lombax" who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank (David Kaye) is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way, they will learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one's own identity.
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2. The Angry Birds Movie — May 20, 2016
Sony, Columbia
The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.
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3. Warcraft — June 10, 2016
Legendary Pictures, Universal
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home. So begins a spectacular saga of power and sacrifice in which war has many faces, and everyone fights for something.
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4. Dead Rising: Endgame — Summer 2016
Sony, Crackle
Dead Rising: Endgame drops us into the zombie-infested quarantined zone of East Mission City where investigative reporter Chase Carter (Jesse Metcalfe) must stop a secret government conspiracy.
The film is a sequel to 2015's Dead Rising: Watchtower.
5. Assassin's Creed — December 21, 2016
Ubisoft, 20th Century Fox
Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.
In March 2016, Daphne Yang, CEO of the film's Taiwanese co-financier CatchPlay, stated that New Regency was looking to turn the film into a franchise, since it is based on a series of successful Ubisoft games that would make ideal sequels.
6. Sly Cooper — 2016
Blockade/Rainmaker, Sony
Sly Cooper is a kinetic and comedic heist film that tells the story of Sly Cooper (Ian James Corlett), an orphaned raccoon thief, along with his childhood friends and partners in crime, Bentley Turtle (Matt Olsen) and Murray Hippo (Chris Murphy. In the film, Sly learns of his birth family's secret legacy; that he comes from a long line of talented and international thieves.
Endowed with this knowledge, Sly and his friends are catapulted into a global adventure as they race to reassemble pieces of an ancient book holding The Cooper Clan's family secrets before it can fall into the hands of Clockwerk -- an evil Russian metallic owl bent on ending the Cooper family line. From romantic Parisian backdrops to the lush mountains of China, gritty film noir meets bright, colorful graphic novels in this origin story of the world's greatest thief-turned-hero.
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7. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter — January 27, 2017
Capcom, Screen Gems
Alice (Milla Jovovich), Jill (Sienna Guillory), Claire (Ali Larter), Chris (William Levy), Leon (Johann Urb), Ada (Li Bingbing), and Wesker (Shawn Roberts) rush to The Hive, where The Red Queen (Megan Charpentier) plots total destruction over the human race.
The fifth instalment in the Resident Evil movie franchise.
8. Uncharted — June 30, 2017
Colombia, Sony
The movie will tell the tale of treasure hunter Nate Drake, a descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he searches for fabled South American golden city, El Dorado. The search gets taken up a notch when creatures (actually mutated descendants of Spaniards and Nazis) begin attacking those hoping to learn the city's true secrets. Having been in development since 2008, the film was originally scheduled for release this year but was pushed back in order to perfect the script.
9. Splinter Cell — 2017
Ubisoft, 20th Century Fox
In 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt defined the "Four Essential Freedoms," the basis for the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. But there is a fifth: The Freedom to protect the other four by any means necessary. As an elite Splinter Cell agent, Sam Fisher (Tom Hardy) is given the Fifth Freedom to protect and safeguard freedom across the world.
10. Tomb Raider — 2017
MGM, Warner Bros.
The film is set to be a reboot, showing Lara Croft's first adventure and will be based on the 2013 video game. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Peyton List, Nina Dobrev, Kaya Scodelario, Daisy Ridley, Cara Delevigne, Emilia Clarke and Saoirse Ronan were all considered for the leading role of Lara, but it eventually went to Alicia Vikander. Megan Fox, Kristen Stewart and Olivia Wilde were all offered the part but turned it down.
11. Rampage — 2017
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros.
Based on the '80s arcade game of the same name, the storyline will center around three mutated gigantic monsters (Silverback, Alligator and Wolf) as they destroy major cities and landmarks across the US. San Andreas' Brad Peyton is set to direct the film, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson taking on a leading role.
12. The Witcher — 2017
The film will be based on the short stories The Witcher and Lesser Evil from The Last Wish collection by Andrzej Sapkowski, in which Geralt the Witcher, a monster hunter with superhuman abilities, is suspended between the human world and the magical realm. It will be directed by Tomasz Baginski, with Thania St. John serving as screenwriter.
13. Sonic the Hedgehog — 2018
Original Film, Sony
The live-action and animation hybrid will follow the antics of the world's fastest (and favorite) hedgehog, Sonic, along with some of the franchise's most well-known characters including the evil Dr. Eggman.
14. Minecraft — 2018
Vertigo, Warner Bros.
Just like the game, the Minecraft movie will center around a person who is dropped into the middle of nowhere and must build out a world of their own. With monsters coming out at any time, it will be a challenge to survive the night.
The LEGO Movie's Roy Lee will work alongside Jill Messick as producer, with Rob McElhenney on board to direct.
The remainder of the films on the list do not have an official release date, but are classed as 'in development'.
15. Watch Dogs
Ubisoft, Sony
Aiden Pearce is a brilliant hacker bent on revenge and inflicting his own brand of justice after a violent family tragedy. Using all of his skills, Pearce hacks into Chicago's Central Operating System (ctOS), which controls the city’s infrastructure, including security cameras, traffic lights, and public transportation, as well as databases containing key information on the city’s residents. He turns the entire city of Chicago into his ultimate weapon.
Writing and producing partners Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese are said to be working on the script.
16. The Last of Us
Sony, Screen Gems
In a world devastated by a strange virus that transforms humans into bloodthirsty beasts, Joel and Ellie must survive by warding off infected humans and other survivors fighting over the remaining food supplies and weapons.
By January 2015, the game's original director, Neil Druckmann had written a script for the film and performed a read-through with some actors; however, very little work has occurred since, and Druckmann stated last month that the film had entered "development hell".
17. Dragon's Lair
The movie will be a prequel to the video games, following Dirk from his birth through his early adventures. The characters will include Mordroc the Wizard, Daphne, and a new dragon.
Late last year, an Indiegogo page for Dragon's Lair: The Movie was set up by creator Don Bluth and film producer, Gary Goldman, and the pair collaborated with the Nostalgia Critic to promote the project. In December, the campaign reached its goal of $250,000 (just 14 days after launch), and had raked in more than twice the budget by January 2016.
18. Mass Effect
Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros.
The film will follow the plot of the original game: Set in the year 2183, a human soldier and his starship, the SSV Normandy, fly across the galaxy and deal with a long-extinct race of aliens, dormant beacons and other alien species. The game's executive producer Casey Hudson, as well as Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck from BioWare, will serve as executive producers.
19. Temple Run
Warner Bros. Pictures and producer David Heyman are in talks with Imangi Studios to make a movie version of the 2011 mobile game, in which an explorer is chased by demonic forces after stealing an idol from a temple.
20. Rabbids
Ubisoft, Sony
The story will focus on the large, crazy rabbits we've come to know as Rabbids, who like to cause havoc and mischief. The movie will be a hybrid live-action/stop-motion animated feature film with a screenplay written by Matthew Senreich, Tom Sheppard and Zeb Wells.
21. Five Nights at Freddys
Vertigo Entertainment, Warner Bros.
Set in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a darker version of Chuck-E-Cheese, an animatronic animal band perform kiddy songs by day, and goes on murderous rampages by night. Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Roy Lee are currently signed on to produce.
22. Far Cry
Ubisoft
The film will follow Jack Carver, a retired Ocean Patrol officer, as he transports tourists and small cargo to remote islands on his boat. After bringing a female reporter to an uncharted island in Micronesia, his boat is blown up, he is left for dead and the reporter is kidnapped. Carver must embark on a rescue mission into an island inhabited by mercenaries protecting a secret genetic research lab.
23. Ghost Recon
Ubisoft, Warner Bros.
A unit of the U.S. Army Special Forces essentially operates as the President’s private army, using the latest technology to infiltrate and take down threats around the world without leaving any traces behind that they exist. Michael Bay is on board to direct with Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia penning the script.
24. Kane & Lynch
Lionsgate
The story will follow Kane, a death row inmate who, along with a schizophrenic killer named Lynch, is sprung by Kane's former team so that he can retrieve a stolen fortune. Kane will then travel to Los Angeles, Japan and Cuba, with Lynch acting as the team's watchdog in order to save his wife and daughter.
The adaptation has been in the works since 2007, with Lionsgate originally planning on stars Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx, but since initiating talks with Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel. The film will be directed by F. Gary Gray.
25. Metal Gear Solid
Michael De Luca Productions, Sony
Solid Snake, a Special Forces operative, will find himself called out of retirement for one last mission after terrorists threaten a nuclear facility in Alaska. Snake must penetrate their defenses and neutralize the threat.
According to an interview in Nuts magazine, Christian Bale is interested in playing Solid Snake in the film. Jordan Vogt-Roberts is on board to direct, with Ari Arad as well as production president Michael De Luca steering the ship as producers as well.
26. Asteroids
Universal
Based on the classic Atari video game, Asteroids has been in development since 2009 with Matthew Lopez writing the script and Lorenzo di Bonaventura signed on as producer. Universal will create the story from scratch, as done with Battleship, which was based on the Hasbro board game of the same name.
27. Borderlands
Arad Productions, Lionsgate
Based on the 2009 video game by Gearbox Software, the Borderlands movie will be an edgy, R-rated take on the original material set on the planet of Pandora, with Ari and Avi Arad at the helm.
28. Gran Turismo
Michael De Luca Productions, Sony
Jon and Erich Hoeber are set to co-write the film with Alex Tse, working alongside Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Kevin Spacey as producers. No plot details have been announced.
29. Metro 2033
MGM
Set in 2033, after a nuclear holocaust devastates Moscow and survivors head under ground, a young survivor will be forced to go on a journey that will see him deal with mutants, soldiers of a Fourth Reich and political factions of various metro stations in order to reach above ground. F. Scott Frazier will pen the script.
30. Mortal Kombat
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros.
An eight-minute short film, Mortal Kombat Rebirth was created both to pique the interest of fans and to sell Warner Bros. on the style. All we know about the reboot so far is that James Wan is signed-on to produce.
Which upcoming video game adaptation movie are you most looking forward to?