Back when the animated Ratchet and Clank movie was announced, we got confirmation Blockade Entertainment was also adapting another popular Sony game, Heavenly Sword , into a CG animated film. In fact, Heavenly Sword help the company pave the way to make the 2015 Ratchet film.

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Today, we get our first extended look at the movie, which stars Fringe's Anna Torv, Alfred Molina and the Punisher himself, Thomas Jane. Take a look for yourself:For different versions of this trailer, visit the Heavenly Sword official site and PlayStation official site

We had an opportunity to sit down with the film's producers, Brad Foxhoven and David Wohl, to discuss how the project came into being, and what it means for Blockade's future Ratchet and Clank film.The film initially began as a production experiment between Blockade and Sony. The objective was to use existing video game assets and development materials, along with various game pipeline techniques, to produce a feature length film. By capitalizing on the enhanced production efficiencies, the additional resources and investment could then be placed on the actual production itself. The result would be a smaller-budgeted film that would look and feel like a much more expensive production. It just happened that we loved Heavenly Sword, and Sony agreed to allow us to work with the franchise.The story and characters. For a video game franchise, Sony and Ninja Theory did an amazing job at creating a wonderful set of characters and a compelling storyline. Additionally they made a beautiful-looking game with the help of Andy Serkis and the WETA team. This allowed us to hit the ground running.

We wanted Anna Torv back – it was a must. When she was cast for the game and recorded her part, she wasn't as much of a well-known actress. Following the game's release, she starred on the hit television series, Fringe. So, of course, we were concerned that she could be too busy to reprise her role as Nariko, or just wouldn't want to do it. Thankfully she said yes.Our next challenge was Andy Serkis, who not only directed the game's cinematics, but also played King Bohan in the game. He wasn't available when we were making the film, so our challenge was how to replace him? Fortunately we were able to bring Alfred Molina aboard. His version of King Bohan was great, and we think the fans will enjoy his take on the character.Finally, we were able to get Thomas Jane to come in to play Loki, a new and pivotal character in the film. The rest of the cast, including Nolan North and Barry Dennen were already friends of ours – and were exceptionally talented actors in their own rights. This was vital since we needed the two of them to play several key roles.

The film follows the overall plot of the game, with one major deviation. In the game you never actually get to see the true "chosen one," because he was never born. In the film, though, we introduce him—and give Nariko the task of getting the Heavenly Sword to him. This creates a driving element through the second act of the film, and places even more pressure on Nariko when everything falls apart.Quite simply, the quality of the Heavenly Sword film impressed more than a few people. Sony was aware of the challenges we were facing during the production, and was very supportive throughout the production – but the final result was a pleasant surprise to them. Basically it came down to "they can make this kind of film with this amount of money – what if they had more money and an even bigger franchise to work with?" They allowed us to create a test reel with Ratchet and Clank, and with it we gained the ability to make that film as well.

Probably the biggest one was that this was all possible. That with the advances of production technologies, smaller companies can make films that can stand up to the more traditional, bigger-budgeted films. A film like District 9 proved the concept for live action, and our hope is that our films show the same for CG-animated films.For more on Heavenly Sword, check out the official site YouTube and Twitter pages.[Editor's Note: Had originally listed Andy Serkis as starring in the film, and he was not available. Alfred Molina stars in the film. The article has been updated to reflect this. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.]

Chris Carle is Entertainment Editorial Director at IGN. Follow him on Twitter , where you will see things written about various cereals, '90s songs and most likely, Mountain Dew.