Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to make a movie based upon the Mass Effect franchise. Avi and Ari Arad are set to produce with Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Thor) in talks to write the script.
Tull described Mass Effect as ripe for translation with depth, compelling characters and an engaging back story. Arad described the shooter/RPG series as a parable whose conflicts mirror the ones we currently face in our own world. This story emphasizes the need for all cultures to learn to work together.
Avatar has apparently made studios warm to the idea of extra-terrestrial movies, since it showed the audiences can empathize and relate to alien characters. The folks at Legendary have experience with large undertakings like this, having worked on The Dark Knight, 300, Watchmen and the recent Clash of the Titans remake; Avi Arad used to chair Marvel and led that company successfully into movies, and is currently working on an adaptation of Uncharted for the big screen.
BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will serve as executive producers. Casey Hudson, who executive produced the game and will do the same for the movie, said BioWare always thought Mass Effect was perfectly suited to be a motion picture.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
