With Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie scoring a record-setting box office opening, the idea that video games can’t be successfully adapted into a movie or television series is now becoming a thing of the past. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the latest in a string of successful adaptations that includes Detective Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Witcher and most recently The Last of Us.
Admittedly, not every game is a great fit for film or television, but one video game that actor Jack Black would like to see on the big screen is Red Dead Redemption. Black, who stars as Bowser in Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, recently told BBC that Red Dead Redemption’s story would make for a wonderful adaptation.
"And there are some great games that have yet to be explored in television or film. Maybe there's going to be a Red Dead Redemption movie? There should be, because I think that [has] just as good or [an] even better story than The Last of Us."
The Red Dead Redemption franchise is considered among the best video games ever made. The western epics from Rockstar Games have sold millions of copies worldwide while garnering hundreds of awards, and are often praised for their tremendous storytelling, unpredictable narrative, and interesting cast of characters.
Black’s comments shouldn’t be conceived as a slight to The Last of Us either. The actor had nothing but praise for HBO’s adaptation, adding that the show’s success was likely due to staying so close to the original source material.
“The Last of Us was fantastic. And what's crazy is how loyal it is to the original source material. It's basically all from the game with just a couple of tweaks. It's going to win all the awards… They used the video game almost like a storyboard and I was like, 'Whoa, this looks just the same.'”
Unfortunately, it may take a bit of convincing to get Rockstar on board with the idea of adapting Red Dead Redemption. Remedy Entertainment's Max Payne, which was published by Rockstar, was released back in 2008 and is a prime example of an adaptation gone wrong. The film was panned by critics for its "illogical plot and overdirection." Of course, one could argue that the Red Dead Redemption games feature a much more compelling story that would lend itself nicely to the small or big screen.
Would you want to see a movie based on Red Dead Redemption?