Last week's news that a Thief movie (nü-Thief, to be clear about it) is in the works struck me as a bit odd. The game isn't exactly a household name, after all, and the description of the film's “dark fantasy world” sounded tremendously generic to my ears. But today, Variety reported that a Metro 2033 flick is also in the early stages of development, and that, I think, holds a little more promise.

The film will be based upon Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel and not the videogame of the same name, so some of the specific elements and characters may not be immediately familiar. But it will follow the tale of Artyom, who was born just before the war that ended the world and grew up underground, as he struggles through the ugliness of day-to-day life before eventually coming into contact with the Dark Ones.

Of course, the real star of the show will be the post-apocalyptic tunnels of Moscow's subway system, where the final, filthy remnants of humanity are winding down the clock of civilization. It's a unique and unrelentingly grim setting that made for a couple of great videogames, and will hopefully translate just as well to the big screen.

“My novel and I have been waiting for this to happen for the last ten years,” Glukhovsky said. “I have previously been extremely careful about handing my ‘baby’ over to Hollywood producers for adaption for a feature film, but now I feel that it has landed in the right hands. [Producers Michael] De Luca and [Stephen] L’Heureux have a great vision for this project, and I feel it’s an honor to work with them.”

Casting ideas, anyone?