They’re really doing it
Video game adaptations continue to be all the rage, and nowĀ Duke NukemĀ gets to join in. The movie rights toĀ Duke NukemĀ have been acquired by Legendary Entertainment.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Legendary has quite an interesting crew on board to produce theĀ Duke NukemĀ project, too.Ā Cobra KaiĀ creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg are reportedly on board.
Alongside Legendary Entertainment, Marla Studios will also be on to produce. Marla Studios was founded byĀ Assassin’s CreedĀ (the movie) producer Jean-Julien Baronnet and specializes in video game adaptations. THR reports the search for a writer is underway, and there’s no director attached just yet either.
There was aĀ Duke NukemĀ film project in the works not too long ago, over at Paramount. The project even had wrestling superstar John Cena attached to it, but the film reportedly stalled out.
The Duke is back?
By all accounts, this is some wild news.Ā Duke NukemĀ may have been a heavy-hitter of the arena shooter era, but the series has stalled out. The infamously catastrophicĀ Duke Nukem ForeverĀ seemed like it had forever shut the lid on newĀ Duke NukemĀ games.
But not all video game heroes of the ’90s have faded into obscurity. Lara Croft had her revival in both video game and movie form, andĀ Serious SamĀ has kept trucking along. 2016’sĀ DoomĀ was a brilliant revitalization, but it also made Doomguy a household name again.
Does Duke Nukem still have that appeal? Either way, Legendary Entertainment is picking the right team. The Cobra KaiĀ is pretty dang good, and I’d imagine those showrunners could do something interesting with Duke. To be honest, after re-visiting the old Cena news, I’m now picturing a Peacemaker-style take onĀ Duke NukemĀ and thinking it could somehow work.
Published: Jun 10, 2022 05:30 pm