The Long Dark is a survival game that tosses players in an unforgiving and frigid Northern wilderness, and with the help of a producer who’s known for his work on the Resident Evil movies, the game will be brought to life as a new live action film.
Announced just today, Hinterland Studio, the developer and publisher of The Long Dark, will create the movie by partnering with Jeremy Bolt, a producer who worked on 2002’s Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Extinction, 2008’s Death Race and many other movies including those in the RE series. Raphael van Lierop, the founder and creative director of Hinterland, will be penning the script for the movie with Bolt producing the piece.
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“My goal with Hinterland – starting with The Long Dark — has always been to create original entertainment properties that could span multiple mediums, exploiting the storytelling potential of each form” said van Lierop about his aspirations for the survivalvideo game. “Partnering with Jeremy on this project is the first step in achieving that vision of true cross-platform storytelling in the world of The Long Dark.“
Bolt said that the partnership between the two actually began when he reached out to van Lierop about the game, saying that he was a huge fan of The Long Dark and it’s dreary but captivating landscapes that players traverse. The story of emotional trials coupled with difficult moral decisions was also enticing to Bolt, and he said that it was an honor to bring the game to a new medium.
While the plans for the movie have no doubt been in the works for quite a while now, the timing of the announcement lines up with the full release date of the game that just happens to be tomorrow, Aug. 1.
For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s been in Early Access mode for some time now, first debuted as a survival game with a chapter-based story mode coming with the full release. The game pulls inspiration from bleak works of entertainment such as Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, a tone that’s reflected in the harsh climate and the trying experiences that players must overcome.
As a preview of what to expect from the movie, Hinterland has also released a visual poem called Elegy that’s written by van Lierop. The full video can be seen above, but there’s no projected release date or further cast members announced yet.
