Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series is one of gaming’s most iconic franchises – known for its stealth-based action, complex storytelling and cinematic visuals. It’s so iconic, in fact, that it’s surprising it hasn’t yet been adapted for the big screen.
There’s good news for MGS fans, though – a movie version is indeed in development at Sony Pictures. The bad news? It’s in the ‘development hell’ stage of development, which basically means that the project has been struggling to get off the ground for several years.
Unlike many mooted game adaptations, though, the Metal Gear Solid movie does at least have a passionate flag-flyer in the form of writer/director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who’s been attached to the project for a while.
Vogt-Roberts impressed with his debut indie hit The Kings Of Summer in 2013 and has since directed blockbuster Kong: Skull Island. He has co-written the Metal Gear Solid script with Derek Connolly (known for his work on the Jurassic World films), with consultation from game creator Hideo Kojima himself.
Here’s everything we know about the Metal Gear Solid movie so far.
Metal Gear Solid movie status
The film’s writer/director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, gave an update on the project during an appearance on Gary Whitta's Animal Talking online talk show in July 2020. He revealed that a script is finished but is yet to be given the green light. He also explained that he had hoped to be actually shooting the film by now, but that the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the project’s progress. Here’s more of what Vogt-Roberts had to say:
“This is my baby. I've been working on this thing for six years, trying to make it so it is the disruptive, punk-rock, true to Metal Gear, true to Kojima-san spirit version of what this is.
“It's a difficult thing, getting any movie made in Hollywood is hard. Getting something like Metal Gear made…[the story is] so complex, it's even harder. That's why I'm trying to make it for a budget where you can do crazy shit, where you can do the Metal Gear version of it where it isn't neutered.
"I thought I was going to be on set of this movie a year ago. Covid has sort of changed everything and we're figuring out a bunch of stuff. I have no idea when it's going to go…I will fight [for it] every single day until I can't."
READ MORE: Everything we know about the Uncharted movie
Metal Gear Solid movie cast
No actors have been cast yet, but the part of series protagonist Solid Snake is sure to be a coveted role among Hollywood actors. One A-lister who’s keen is Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina, the Star Wars sequel trilogy), who indicated his enthusiasm for the project during an interview with IGN. When asked which video game character he’d love to play, Isaac replied: “Metal Gear Solid, that’s the one. I’m throwing my hat in for that one.”
Vogt-Roberts seemed up for the idea. In a tweet, he reacted to the news with a concept image of Isaac as Solid Snake (created by artist BossLogic), and the statement: “The ball’s in Oscar’s court.” Watch this space.
READ MORE: All the latest news on the Tomb Raider movie sequel
Metal Gear Solid movie trailer
The movie adaptation of Metal Gear Solid is still in the early stages of development, so it still hasn’t actually started filming yet. That means there’s no trailer. As soon as the project kicks into gear and a trailer drops online, we’ll include it here.
READ MORE: Everything we know about Netflix’s The Division movie
Metal Gear Solid movie release date
Given that cameras haven’t even started rolling yet, and the script has yet to receive the greenlight, there’s no word yet on when we can expect to see the Metal Gear Solid movie on the big screen. And with the coronavirus pandemic throwing movie studios’ schedules and release plans into disarray for the foreseeable future, we don’t expect to see it any time soon. We’re hoping that Vogt-Roberts can get things moving in the near future, though – he’s certainly got the passion for it.
READ MORE: All the latest news on the new Mortal Kombat movie