Video game adaptations are in with lots of attention around these two military-based first-person shooters ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Greetings!

Forget comic book adaptations; it's Hollywood's love affair with video games that is blooming.

The latest example of this comes from one of gaming's biggest rivalries — Activision's "Call of Duty" franchise vs. Electronic Arts' "Battlefield" — moving to the big screen.

Last month at CinemaCon, Paramount planted a flag on a June 30, 2028, release date for its “Call of Duty” movie, with Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg writing and Berg directing an adaptation of the popular first-person shooter.

Just a week later, Electronic Arts (EA) sent its “Battlefield” package — with “Mission: Impossible” filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie attached to write and direct, and Michael B. Jordan producing and potentially starring — out to buyers in what is shaping up to be the biggest bidding war of the year.

As TheWrap exclusively reported, Warner Bros., Amazon MGM Studios, Universal, Sony and Netflix put in bids for the uber hot “Battlefield,” and we're still waiting to see how that shakes out.

It's a dramatic change for video games, which once had a reputation for hit-or-miss adaptations (remember 1999's "Super Mario Bros." starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo?) but have now become darlings thanks to blockbuster franchises minted out of the new "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Minecraft."

But as our Umberto Gonzalez writes, with "Call of Duty" vs. "Battlefield," you're seeing a Marvel vs. DC-like dynamic potentially play out with fans of their respective franchises whipping up attention for both projects in a frenzy.

If the last decade has taught Hollywood anything, it’s that rivalries sell tickets, and the disparate audiences of these two franchises could signal a win-win scenario for all, despite their similarities.

Roger Cheng
Managing Editor of Business and PRO
roger.cheng@thewrap.com

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