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In May 2006, Hideo Kojima announced that a film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid was in development.[1] The film was purported to be in English, though a release date was not stated.[2] In January 2010, it was announced that the movie has been stalled, with the film's producer saying that development likely won't continue.[3] However, on August 30, 2012, it was revealed that the movie is back in production, and will be produced by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Avi Arad.[4]

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Development

Announcement and original production

At E3 2006, Kojima announced that he had negotiated a contract with a party in Hollywood to adapt the video game into a film.[1] He also stated that he was considering filming the film in Alaska due to the game being set in the state.[5]

In February 2007, it was revealed that Sony Pictures would be involved in producing the film.[6] In May 2007, Solid Snake's English voice actor, David Hayter, submitted his take for the movie, including a script, to Konami, though they rejected it.[7] In March 2008, it was announced that Michael De Luca, who has produced such illustrious films as Boogie Nights and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, would be producing the film.[8] De Luca also stated that the studio was interested in Kurt Wimmer, who wrote and directed Equilibrium and Ultraviolet, to write and direct the film.[9] However, in an interview later that month, De Luca stated that Wimmer was not involved with the movie and was one of the many people approached to direct the film.[8]

In June 2008, in an interview with men's magazine Nuts, actor Christian Bale said that he was interested in playing Solid Snake in the film. However, in a June 2009 interview with MTV, he denied talking about a film version of the game and gave a vague answer on whether he has played Metal Gear Solid or any other game in the Metal Gear series.[10]

In November 2009, Jeremy Bolt, producer of the 2010 film Resident Evil: Afterlife, stated that he and director Paul W.S. Anderson, who has directed or produced the Resident Evil movies and other game-to-movie adaptations, were interested in adapting Metal Gear Solid for the big screen at Columbia Pictures.[11]

Production stall and possible cancellation

In an interview with website Collider.com in January 2010, De Luca stated:[3]

"I don't think it's going to move forward because I got the sense that there may not be enough of a coordinated will at this point on the side of certain parties to see a movie get made."

He also said that Konami were concerned that the film could damage the image of the Metal Gear series. De Luca also added:[3]

"Video game companies are very protective of their property and there are certain things a studio requires freedom-wise to market and distribute a movie effectively in a global marketplace and sometimes getting those two things to match up is really hard... It was just kind of impossible to get the agendas to match up."

The production budget may also have been an issue. Sony Pictures was willing to finance between US$40 million to US$80 million for the film, though Kojima Productions and Konami wanted more money as they felt that Sony Pictures was not offering enough to create a proper cinematic version of the game.[12]

Revival

On August 30, 2012, the movie was revealed to be back in production. It was also revealed that Avi Arad would be producing the film. The movie will be a collaboration between Kojima Productions and Columbia Pictures.[4] Kojima personally expressed that actor Hugh Jackman play Solid Snake, although Arad, who has the final say in the film, indicated a desire for a small-time actor to play the role.[13] Likewise, Kojima also implied that he might be involved in writing the script for the film, although this remains to be seen.[14] Additionally, he let it slip in a few tweets that he met with J.J. Abrams, who previously worked on Person of Interest, Lost, Mission: Impossible 3, and the 2009 Star Trek reboot film, multiple times relating to the film, although the specific position was unknown as was whether he accepted.[15] On June 3, 2014, Deadline reported that Sony was eyeing Jordan Vogt-Roberts to direct the film.[16]

On March 30, 2015, it was announced that Jay Basu was going to write the movie's story.[17] On February 18, 2017, Vogt-Roberts, the director for the movie, explained that the biggest difficulty is trying to get the tone of the film down correctly.[18]

References