Two potential movies have met their end today, so we’ll report both at the same time.
Let’s start with Andre Øvredal’s Troll Hunter, the faux documentary about a crew of people who wind up following a man that kills trolls for the Norwegian government. The movie was picked up soon after its 2011 release for an American remake, which was later confirmed to be helmed by Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday). Today, Øvredal explains why there hasn’t been any news regarding the remake. “[Troll Hunter] is not going anymore. We [Øvredal and the Norwegian producers] got the rights back, and I don’t think they will be pursuing another remake,” he tells BMD.
He elaborates on why it didn’t happen, offering his own theory:
I don’t know exactly. I was very happy with what I read; I never communicated with anybody about it, but I read on-line that Neil Marshall was attached to direct it, and I was like, ‘OK, I can get behind that,’ and then suddenly it didn’t happen. I believe that just after signing up for Troll Hunter, Neil got too busy with Game of Thrones, and that’s what stopped it; that seems to be the case, anyway, and then it just kind of died.
Øvredal’s latest film The Autopsy of Jane Doe is coming to VOD on December 20th. I saw it at the Telluride Horror Show and I highly recommend it! The explanation in the third act is a bit of a stretch but not enough for me to change my opinion. Plus, it’s got Brian Cox, so that should hook you right away.
The second film that is confirmed to not be moving forward is the video game-to-film adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. Announced in 2014 as being produced by Sam Raimi under his Ghost House Pictures banner and written by Neil Druckmann, the Creative Director fo the game, the film has since entered “development hell” and it looks like there is no coming back.
Raimi tells IGN:
Well, unfortunately that one — when we went to Neil with Ghost House Pictures we were hoping to get the rights like we do any project and then we’d take it out and sell it but we’d control the rights. With this one he went to Sony — who I have a very good relationship with — but they have their own plans for it and I think Neil’s plan for it — I’m not trying to be political — Neil’s plan for it is not the same as Sony’s. And because my company doesn’t have the rights, I actually can’t help him too much. Even though I’m one of the producers on it the way he set it up, he sold his rights to Sony, Sony hired me as a producer by chance, and I can’t get the rights free for him so I’m not in the driver’s seat and I can’t tell you what Sony and Neil together will decide on. If they do move forward I’d love to help them again.
Raimi confirms he is still a producer on the film, so he’ll be ready to help should it suddenly move forward. “Yes, I’m attached to it. I’m not too sure what that means. Right now it’s just sitting there. They don’t want to move forward, and it’s not my place to say why, and Neil, I think, is in a slight disagreement with them about how things should go so there’s a standstill. And I don’t have the power to move it,” he explains.
I’m rather heartbroken about this one because The Last of Us is one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had while playing a video game. Following Joel and Ellie through a post-apocalyptic United States was one of the most heartbreaking yet affirming journeys I’ve seen in video game history and the way that it plays out is simply breathtaking. The game does everything in its power to make you feel for the characters and it succeeds 100% in that mission.
I don’t know how well it would translate to a movie experience since the game takes quite a while to beat. Had I the power, I would’ve adapted the game into a few movies, one for each season in the game. Still, I realize how expensive that option is and so I find myself wondering if the final script could’ve had the same impact as the game in a shorter amount of time…
