From Pixels to Pictures: Crafting Cinema in…

The prospect of an Elden Ring film edged closer to reality last Thursday when Bandai Namco revealed that Alex Garland, known for Civil War and Ex Machina, will direct a cinematic adaptation of the acclaimed FromSoftware action role-playing game. George R.R. Martin, who infused game director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s vision with a rich tapestry of mythology, will take on the role of producer for the film.

At first glance, Garland might seem an unexpected choice for Elden Ring, considering his past work lacks epic fantasy and medieval combat experience. However, his credibility as a gamer is well-established, and his deep understanding of interactive storytelling is a hallmark of his projects. In fact, I’d argue that his 2012 film Dredd is the best video game film that doesn’t actually adapt any video game.

Beginning his career as a novelist, Garland transitioned into screenwriting and directing while consistently expressing the influence of gaming on his work. He has credited his experience with Resident Evil as the inspiration behind the fast-moving zombies in 28 Days Later, which he penned for director Danny Boyle. When the two collaborated on adapting Garland’s own novel, The Beach, the result was a unique cinematic interpretation akin to Leonardo DiCaprio’s unrealized Banjo-Kazooie film.

In 2005, fresh from the success of 28 Days Later, Garland was approached by Microsoft to adapt Halo into a feature film—a project that ultimately languished for so long that it was overtaken by the advent of streaming, leading to a lackluster Paramount Plus series. Garland also ventured into actual video game development, assisting Ninja Theory and Bandai Namco on Enslaved: Odyssey to the West in 2010, and working as a story supervisor on DmC: Devil May Cry in 2013. Around this time, he discovered The Last of Us, even declaring it superior to 28 Days Later—a bold statement, but one that not everyone would agree with.

Garland’s gaming preferences are eclectic—he actively maintained an Animal Crossing island during the pandemic, like many of us—but his clear influences lean toward AAA action experiences. His adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation captures the pacing and encounters typical of open-world games. His FX series Devs resonates with fans of titles like Deus Ex or Control, while Civil War and his upcoming film Warfare delve into the tactical military dynamics often seen in multiplayer shooters. Yet it’s Dredd where he truly translates video game aesthetics into the cinematic realm