Elden Ring movie director wrote "an epic 160-page draft" to get Miyazaki's approval
Probably about as long as the game itself.
Following the announcement that A24 was working on a film adaptation of Elden Ring, director Alex Garland has revealed the lengths he had to go to secure the approval of the game's creator.
Off the back of its tremendously successful Shadow of the Erdtree DLC last year, Elden Ring's film debut was confirmed earlier this year with writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Civil War, Warfare, 28 Years Later) handed the reins.
Now, in an interview with The New Yorker, A24's head of film Noah Sacco opened up about how hard Garland worked to bag the rights to FromSoftware's 2022 masterpiece.
Sacco recalls how Garland, who is open about his gaming obsession, explained the game over the phone to him, before showing it off in person during one of Sacco's visits to London.
Reminded of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, Sacco enthusiastically confirmed that A24 would be interested in an adaptation, prompting Garland to immediately offer to write a script in hopes of getting the game's creator, legendary developer Hidetaka Miyazaki, on board.
By entering your details you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
That script, once completed, numbered a staggering 160 pages, with an extra 40 pages of images on top of that.
Draft in hand, the two flew to Japan to meet with Miyazaki and co., and the rest, as they say, is history.
Garland is far from the only big name on the production. He's set to be joined by Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin, who himself worked on the story for the original game, as well as Peter Rice, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich and Vince Gerardis.
While the leading role of the Tarnished is yet to be confirmed, the current favourite is Heartstopper star Kit Connor, who starred in Garland's recent Iraq War flick Warfare.
This Elden Ring adaptation represents A24's second foray into the world of gaming, with an adaptation of Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding already in the works.
It's another drop in the seemingly ever-expanding ocean of recent gaming adaptations that includes the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter and of course, both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.
As for how Garland's story will play out in the Lands Between, we'll simply have to wait and see.
Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
