Thereโs something to be said about the herd mentality behind Hollywoodโs shotcallers. Weโve arguably hit an apex with the reboot/revival trend, cashing in on nostalgia with older audiences and introducing time-tested properties to younger generations. Superhero content has dominated the landscape both commercially and culturally. The next big thing? Studios are looking to lure massive, existing fanbases attached with video games like the ridiculous Saints Row franchise into theatres for what hopefully wonโt be a half-assed movie adaptation.
Bringing the game in question to screens โ which can only be described as Grand Theft Auto meets aliens meets reality-bending meta humour โ has been in discussion for over a decade, with everyone from rapper 50 Cent to THQ executive vice president Danny Bilson participating in the broader conversation. At the time of this articleโs publishing, itโs being developed by F. Gary Gray, director of Friday, Straight Outta Compton, and The Fate of the Furious. The screenplay, on the other hand, is being penned by Greg Russo, who has most recently completed the hotly-anticipated Mortal Kombat reboot.
โI think from a storytelling perspective, it was two thingsโฆ The tricky thing with something like Saints Row is going to be tone, right away,โ Greg Russo tells Collider.
โIf you know the franchise, you know that it basically had two tones: it has more of the gritty tone, which is the first couple [games], and then it goes kind of bonkers and just absolutely insane. And so, we wanted to make sure that we werenโt isolating either of those.โ
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โYou want it to feel real, you want the characters to feel real, as much as possible. But you also wanna lean into what made it fun and lean into that craziness.โ
โIโm a big fan of 70s cinema, so I looked at The Warriors, I looked at Escape From New York โ just some of those classics. And I said, โWellโฆ how do we pull from some of those and tell our own unique story?โ So Iโm excited for it. Weโll see.โ
As with generally the case when it comes to a projectโs early development, public details have been kept to a minimum. Although itโs comforting to hear Russo is keeping the gameโs over-the-top DNA in mind. And we can only hope iconic characters such as Johnny Gat make an appearance.
Currently, in addition to F. Gary Grayโs Saints Row movie, hereโs what else gamers can look forward to (or dread depending on where you lean):
- HBOโs The Last of Us series, starring Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey
- Amazonโs Fallout series, showrun by Westworld creators Jonathon Nolan (brother of Christopher Nolan) & Lisa Joy
- Netflixโs Splinter Cell series
- Uncharted movie, starring Tom Holland & Mark Wahlberg
- Metal Gear Solid movie, starring Oscar Isaac
- Ghost of Tsushima movie, directed by John Wickโs Chad Stahelski
- and in the coming month โ both Tom Clancyโs Rainbow 6 prequel, Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan, as well as the R-rated visual affair, Mortal Kombat
