S&S News: Uncharted movie going well, Metal Gear Solid film 3 years away, Mass Effect 5 years, says producer

Producer Avi Arad has discussed his hand in the Uncharted, Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid movies at an event in Beijing, and he has stated that these projects are all coming along well.

Speaking with Kotaku he said, “Converting games to film hasn’t been done yet successfully, though Resident Evil did very well—it was actually a great series. I remember when Bernd Eichinger started it,” said Arad. “I was working with him, I just couldn’t do that at Marvel but I had a good feeling about it, it’s a fantastic franchise.

“I think that film studios are bankers and filmmakers are risk takers and somewhere in between we meet on the battlefield. And the moment one video game movie goes through the roof, it’s the same thing that I’ve been through with comic books.”

On the Uncharted movie he explained, “I think Uncharted will be very successful. It’s a father and son game. There are things about it that are interesting. I think the world of antiquities theft, there are many countries in the world that realised they’re being robbed and they’re trying to recoup these important pieces. Now, the script has a lot of character [and] I think that has a shot at being the first one [to succeed].”

On Metal Gear Solid Arad said the movie is at least three years away, and that he is meeting with Kojima soon to discuss it. He continued, “If you go to Metal Gear Solid, it’s actually full of storytelling. I always look at the bible as a storyteller and operas with special attention to relationships and here, you have Cain and Abel, Ying and Yang like Double Dragon.”

He added that the Mass Effect may even be as far as five or six years down the line, and stated, “It’s a big idea, that we, humans, are the least developed, the least trusted, it’s an interesting mirror image of our world, we are the aliens now. Love the project, it’s getting there, it’s been a lot of work; some movies take five, six years before they’re ready.”