One of the biggest video games of the last decade is being made into a movie by A24 with some serious talent involved. Could we finally be in the golden age of the game adaptation?
The signs are looking good based on the available information about Elden Ring, the film being based on the game of the same name from FromSoftware, the company behind Dark Souls and Bloodborne (which is set for its own adaptation), and shepherded by acclaimed writer-director Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Civil War).
With filming underway, here’s everything we know about the Elden Ring film.
The Cast
The earlier casting talk mentioned three names as circling the project: Kit Connor, Ben Whishaw, and a vet from Garland’s most-recent solo directing job, Civil War, Cailee Spaeny.
As production kicked off in the U.K., a full roster of performers dropped, including Nick Offerman, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonathan Pryce, Ruby Cruz, John Hodgkinson, Jefferson Hall, Emma Laird and Peter Serafinowicz.
The Plot
The fantasy story, which was conceived in part by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin, takes place within the mystical Lands Between, which have been beset by war and spiteful demigods. In the game, the player controls as customizable member of the Untarnished, one of the exiles from the Lands Between, who seeks to collect the shards of the titular Elden Ring and restore order to the realm.
The Creative Team
The Elden Adaptation comes from writer-director Alex Garland, who is hot off the the first two installments of a planned 28 Years Later trilogy and two earlier A24 movies, Civil War and Warfare, which he directed with Ray Mendoza. Perhaps even more relevant to fans of Elden Ring, Garland is a known gamer.
The Release Date
Elden Ring is scheduled to hit theaters on March 3, 2028.
The Awards Chances
Despite being one of the most respected scribes working in film today, especially in the genre space, Garland only has one Oscar nomination to his name. That would be for Best Original Screenplay for his directorial debut, Ex Machina. A spring fantasy film released, based on a video game, might not seem like the most obvious contender for awards, but with Garland’s track record, the popularity of Elden Ring, and the Academy’s increasing openness to genre, it’s path may be difficult — but not, like, Dark Souls difficult.
