Coming Soon: Mechwarrior Movie

If there's one thing I've learned in my time as an online entertainment writer it's this: If a project involves anything remotely resembling giant robots, it has to be cool. Filmmaker Dean Devlin (Eight Legged Freaks, Independence Day, The Patriot) would probably agree. According to today's Hollywood Reporter, Devlin has just signed on to produce a feature film based on the popular gaming franchise MechWarrior (the universe MechAssault exists within). Paramount Pictures is in talks to snag the rights to the property from Wiz Kids, the game's Seattle-based developer, for Devlin's Electric Entertainment.

Devlin's commitment to the project is certain, but his level of involvement is yet to be determined. He tells the trade, "Whether I write the script or help with the script or direct, I'm crazy about the material, and this is a real passion project for me."

He says he plans to make the film look like a $150 million movie with an actual budget of less than $100 million. By contrast, Devlin's Eight Legged Freaks cost just $30 million to make. "The type of CG we'd use for this movie, in which warriors battle in giant mechanized suits of armor, would be much easier to create than spiders," he says. "We had 200 CG shots in Freaks, and I think we could get a lot more out of this film."

The best-selling PC game has spawned a handful of sequels and console ports over the years, with the predominate Mech o' the moment being MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. Ivan Sulic, IGN's resident Mech-head says in his review, "I long for MechWarrior even when I play MechWarrior. Masterfully manipulating dozens of keys on the keyboard to flush coolant, switch weapon groups, delegate down orders, blow the arms off a troublesome Thor, dodge a flurry of SRMs, and at the same time jump jet over a small plateau to reach a critical objective that needs a critical murdering is marvelous. It always has been."

The filmmakers won't be able to recreate such tactile thrills, but hopefully they'll give MechWarrior fans a solid story and, at the very least, a look at some jaw-dropping, big-screen-sized Mechs. Keep your browser set to IGN FilmForce for the latest on MechWarrior and all the games-to-film news you know you want!

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