The Call of Duty franchise has been a staple of video games for over twenty years at this point, with annual releases redefining the FPS and action genre countless times over (another one arrives in just two weeks). Despite the runaway success that Call of Duty has enjoyed in the realm of video games, the series has never shifted in the direction of adaptation. Some of that can no doubt be the long-standing stigma over video game movies, but changing tides in adaptations have made that a different story. Earlier this year Paramount confirmed plans to bring Call of Duty to life in live-action and now they’ve found the creative team to put it together.
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According to a report from Variety, Paramount has tapped Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg to develop the Call of Duty movie. Both of these names should sound familiar to fans as they’ve worked in Hollywood for ages and their material has checked from Call of Duty-adjacent boxes already. Sheridan is the mastermind behind the Yellowstone TV franchise, but also wrote the two Sicario films, while Berg previously had a hand in military films like Lone Survivor, The Kingdom, Mile 22, and Battleship. It all begs the question, isn’t this a little too obvious?
The Call of Duty Creative Team Revealed, But There’s a Problem
According to the new report about the film, Berg and Sheridan will co-write the Call of Duty movie together, with Berg planning to direct it himself. There’s no confirmation beyond that what the plot of the film will be or whether it will adapt a specific narrative from the video game franchise. The good news is that there’s no shortage of opportunity for the Call of Duty movie, with games set across countless conflicts, both real and fictional.
From the point of view of Paramount, Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg collaborating on the new Call of Duty is a move that makes sense. The studio is combining the talents of two proven and trusted creatives, the two of whom are friends and have actually worked together (Berg produced both Hell or High Water, which was written by Sheridan, and Wind River, which Sheridan wrote and directed). The news also comes while Paramount technically has Sheridan under contract, with news revealed earlier this week that he’ll be taking his talents to NBCUniversal in a few years. By locking him down to the film now, they could still bring him back for future Call of Duty installments.
Despite all of these hallmarks making this Call of Duty movie announcement seem like a perfect fit, it also feels entirely too safe. Sheridan and Berg have proven time and time again that they know how to make action thrillers that fit the mold of what Call of Duty offers gamers. It’s a creative decision that requires minimal critical thinking on the part of audiences before they even walk in to know what they’re going to get. You can picture it in your mind, and even watch other movies that are already made to know it.
That said, safety is probably what Paramount wants more than anything when it comes to the potential of a giant new franchise. By making sure every expectation is met with two proven creatives, they’re going to get a Call of Duty movie that probably has few surprises, meets expectations, and does little to stand out from other movies in its genre. At the end of the day, a movie that audiences like and go watch is more important to corporations of this size than creativity that pushes the genre into new directions. That in mind, a Sheridan & Berg-penned Call of Duty movie makes a lot of sense, though perhaps too much.
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