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Steven Spielberg, the legendary Oscar-winning director, was reportedly interested in directing a Call of Duty movie but it fell apart due to his apparent desire for total control.
Matthew Belloni of Puck (paywalled) reported that Spielberg was trying to make a Call of Duty movie with Universal and wanted to personally direct it through his Amblin production company. Spielberg was said to have partnered with Universal film boss Jimmy Horowitz to pitch the project to Activision, but it didn’t materialize.
The report said Spielberg himself is a big fan of the Call of Duty franchise, but what apparently contributed to the project failing to come together were elements that Spielberg asked for. His team apparently wanted a “top-of-market” economic deal, full control over production and marketing, and “final cut.” That’s Hollywood parlance for a director having final say in the editing process culminating in the version of a movie that plays in theaters or wherever it’s released. Spielberg is among a rare few who are known to have final cut privileges, along with Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, and others.
Spielberg’s demands are said to have “spooked” the people at Activision, which is now owned by Microsoft. There is no word, however, on the timeline for when Spielberg was pitching a Call of Duty movie, nor do we know what other factors may have contributed.
In any event, a Call of Duty movie is now in the works at Paramount, with a potential TV series to follow. David Ellison, the new head of Paramount by way of his company Skydance’s recent acquisition of the media giant, said in the Call of Duty announcement that he is a huge fan of Call of Duty and is eager to bring a faithful adaptation to the screen. The Puck report said Ellison’s pitch for a Call of Duty movie gave Activision “much more control over the process.”
It’s still early days for the Call of Duty movie, and there is no word yet on who may direct it or star in it.
Activision has been trying to make a Call of Duty movie for years. In 2015, the company established Activision Blizzard Studios and announced it would make an entire universe of Call of Duty movies. At the time, the team said it had plotted out “many years” of Call of Duty movies based on Call of Duty sub-brands like Modern Warfare and Black Ops, but none have ever come to be. Stefano Sollima (Sicario: Day of Soldado) was at one point attached to direct one of the Call of Duty movies, with Oscar-nominated writer Scott Silver signed on to write.
While Spielberg isn’t directing the Call of Duty movie, he does have a history with video game adaptations, as he and Amblin produced the Halo TV series. It ran for two seasons and 17 episodes in total before being canceled. He was said to have been “heavily involved” in the series, examining “every aspect” of it.
In the world of video games themselves, Spielberg created the Medal of Honor series, a precursor to Call of Duty. Spielberg was also the director on 2008’s puzzle game Boom Blox. Looking back further, Spielberg directed the movie E.T., which was adapted into a video game that was so bad that its publisher buried copies of it in the desert.
