It's becoming such a common occurrence that I can't even muster the strength to object -- Painkiller, developed by Polish studio People Can Fly, will be the next game on the list of blockbuster-hopeful adaptations of video game properties for the big screen, Variety is reporting. No mention of he who shall not be named in the works yet, however, but the team assembled thus far has quite a list of accomplished pictures, including "Elf" and the upcoming Eddie Murphy flick "Starship Dave". That's just the pedigree I'd be hoping to produce a flick about, y'know, demon-slaying.

It's the first time DreamCatcher's sold off feature rights to one of its titles. VP George Chastain told Daily Variety the company opted for making a deal with Guy Walks Into a Bar partly because of the shingle's plans to blend the fast-paced action, the wide array of weaponry and cast of demonic characters in the feature adaptation.

Guy Walks has hired Ben McCaw to adapt. His credits include "Gideon's Vault," a finalist in the Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition; "Art of the Fake"; and "Class of the Living Dead. Guy Walks and Deep River Prods. recently wrapped "Starship Dave," starring Eddie Murphy. The shingle also produced "Elf."

Not to say that the game itself was exceptionally bad, but what is it with studios going after the games with virtually nothing by way of viable plot? What's that? Oh, guns. Well, sure, it's got a lot of those. 

[Via Variety; thanks Justin!]