Since its release in 2022, Elden Ring has captured the hearts of millions of players with its immersive storytelling, intricate narrative threads, and even more engaging gameplay mechanics, which will punish them if they are not extra careful. With the popularity of the game and various live-action video game adaptations recently, it is sooner rather than later that it will also get an adaptation.
However, many fans think this is a bad idea, as the recent track record of video game adaptation has shown that the transition from interactive medium to film often results in disaster. Many strongly believe that adapting Elden Ring will be a huge task, and as a result, it could become an even bigger nightmare than the ill-fated Minecraft film.
Elden Ring’s Adaptation Will Distort Its Characters and Themes
Elden Ring has redefined the action RPG genre with its intricate universe steeped in mythology, courtesy of the collaborative efforts of Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. The main appeal of the game is its difficult battles coupled with a narrative that highlights the themes of ambition, ruin, and redemption. But fans believe that if the game ever gets a movie adaptation, that will be the first thing lost in the transition.
One of the major pitfalls of video game adaptations is their tendency to sacrifice rich lore to create a narrative that will appeal to a broader audience. This will be even more prominent with Elden Ring, as it is an open-world game that invites players to explore its vast landscapes and encounter various characters at their own pace, allowing for personal interpretations of the narrative.
Hollywood, however, favors a linear structure that often forces a narrative to compress all the complex storylines and narrative threads into a two-hour runtime. The result? A film that barely scratches the surface of the source material, reducing the appeal to an adventure filled with clichés. This gets even more diluted due to the casting decisions, the more popular the source material, the bigger the star gets cast.
With Elden Ring being a global sensation, there’s a high probability that studio executives will prioritize star power over suitability, leading to casting choices that feel more like box office moves than trying to find genuine representations of the game’s characters. This type of forceful AAA casting not only alienates die-hard fans but also shifts the focus away from the story itself, prioritizing celebrity over substance.
Fans Want Authenticity in the Movie Adaptation
With Hollywood having a habit of injecting recent themes and narratives that don’t align with the original source, it is not a far-fetched idea to think that this is the reason why most adaptations often go wrong. Instead of following the source material, adaptation often risks losing the heart of what made the game compelling in the first place.
Such changes not only take away the connection players build with the game but also result in a narrative that feels hollow and disconnected. This is why fans have been vocal about every adaptation and often joke about using the same cliche in all modern films.
If Hollywood made an Elden Ring adaptation
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Some are joking about the common tropes in modern films to make everything funny.
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While others are just frustrated with the new movies altogether.
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The whole thread is filled with gamers talking about how the adaptation will most likely ruin the experience and make it a joke just like the Minecraft movie’s trailer has become.
They are worried and hoping that if they ever get an adaptation, it should not be like the Minecraft movie. Not only did the movie’s trailer look out of place in most parts but also the focus was more on the movie stars like Jason Momoa and Jack Black than the blocky yet meaningful aspects of the game.
Unlike Elden Ring, Minecraft doesn’t have a very solid foundation, it’s a sandbox where players decide what they want to do. So if the movie can’t adapt to the blank canvas of Minecraft, imagine one trying to adapt to the intricately connected world of Elden Ring. This will result in the movie sacrificing lore, character integrity, and thematic depth that fans adore. Instead, it will turn a beloved game into a forgettable cinematic experience.
In the end, as fans brace themselves for the inevitable news cycles coming their way in the future, they are hoping for a miracle to happen. However, realistically speaking, it’s hard to expect anything other than a nightmare in the making.
What is your favorite live-action video game adaptation? Tell us in the comment section below.
