Production on a film adaptation of the novel Metro 2033 has been halted after its screenwriters struggled to move its setting from a post-apocalyptic Moscow to Washington D.C.

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The rights to the film have reverted back to author Dmitry Glukhovsky, according to an interview he gave with VG247. MGM had previously acquired film rights back in 2012 and attempted to adapt it with writer F. Scott Frazier , who wrote xXx: Return of Xander Cage.The D.C. setting was meant to give Metro 2033 more appeal with American viewers, but Glukhovsky didn't think the different political factions would work in the new setting, and metaphors dealing with xenophobia would be misinterpreted."They're kind of afraid of setting it in Moscow because Americans have a reputation for liking stories about America. Again, with Metro Last Light and Metro 2033 – the books and the games – selling millions and millions of copies worldwide, it's probably not as improbable now that people would accept a story happening in Moscow because that's going to be the unique selling point," he added.When MGM acquired the rights to Metro 2033 in 2012, only one video game adaptation had been released. Metro: Last Light followed in 2013, and Metro: Exodus is planned for release on February 22, 2019, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The games aren't straight adaptations of Glukhovsky's novels, though they are canonically connected and feature the same protagonist.

Gabe Gurwin is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter