Hollywood seems to be looking at games for its source of new movie adaptations and ‘Mass Effect’ can be added to that list.

Currently in development, news of a ‘Mass Effect’ movie was first announced at last July’s Comic Con by screenwriter Mark Protosevich (‘I Am Legend’,’ Jurassic Park IV’) and ‘Mass Effect’ game producer Casey Hudson. They were part of the Legendary Pictures panel and discussed their collaboration with the production company to bring this game to life. At that time, Protosevich announced that his screenplay would be “following and honoring” the story of the first game which centered on Commander Shepard and the mission to save the galaxy from a race of mechanical beings known as the Reapers.

Then in September, much to the dismay of fans of the game, Legendary Pictures posted a Q&A on their website that seemed to contradict what was said at Comic Con. Fans were also confused as the spelling of the Commander’s name was also misspelled.  Here’s what was originally on the website:

Q: Will it just be an adaptation of the first game, second game, or a completely new story?
A: It will be a completely new story

Q: How are you going to address the element of ‘choice’ that the players have in the game?
A: A movie narrative is different than gameplay. There won’t be a choice aspect to this film, just a normal film narrative.

Q: Will it be a trilogy?
A: We are really focused on making this a great movie, so we’ll see where it takes us. We have to get the first one right to know whether there will be more.

Q: Will Seth Green portray Joker (that character he voiced in the game?)
A: No.

Q: Will the movie be focused on Sheppard?
A: Yes.

Q: If the movie is focused on Sheppard, will it be the male Sheppard or the female Sheppard?
A: Male.

Q: Can you give any hints to potential casting?
A: No. Stay tuned.

Q: Will BioWare allow plot/character changes?
A: Yes, we are working closely with BioWare on the development of this project.

Q: Would you consider Daft Punk to do the soundtrack?
A: We love Daft Punk, but it’s too early to say who will produce the soundtrack.

Apparently someone at Legendary Pictures noticed the inconsistencies, as the Q&A has now changed. Here’s what it now says:

Q: Will it just be an adaptation of the first game, second game, or a completely new story?
A: It will focus on Commander Shepard’s journey, centering around the story of the original Mass Effect game.

Q: How are you going to address the element of ‘choice’ that the players have in the game?
A: The writer is weaving a path through Shepard’s decisions that best supports the narrative of the movie and the motivations of its characters.

Q: Will it be a trilogy?
A: We are really focused on making this a great movie, so we’ll see where it takes us. We have to get the first one right to know whether there will be more.

Q: Will Seth Green portray Joker, the character he voiced in the game?
A: No casting decisions have been made yet.

Q: Will the movie be focused on Shepard?
A: Yes.

Q: If the movie is focused on Shepard, will it be the male Shepard or the female Shepard?
A: Male.

Q: Can you give any hints to potential casting?
A: No. Stay tuned.

Q: Will BioWare allow plot/character changes?
A: Yes, we are working closely with BioWare on the development of this project.

Q: Would you consider Daft Punk to do the soundtrack?
A: We love Daft Punk, but it’s too early to say who will produce the soundtrack

So now the movie WILL follow the story of the first game and not something different as the first Q&A had indicated. Also the name of the Commander is now spelled correctly, how the element of choice will be used in the film and the possibility of Seth Green as the Joker (the “no” has been replaced with “No casting decisions have been made yet”) has been amended.

When asked about the corrections, Legendary Pictures stated that it was human error that caused the first Q&A post to contain some incorrect information and that the film is progressing on track. That is good news to fans of ‘Mass Effect’. However, if the recent production obstacles of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ and ‘BioShock’ are anything to go by, don’t hold your breath on having this film move forward into production anytime soon.

In the meantime, the last game of the ‘Mass Effect’ trilogy (‘Mass Effect 3’) will be released on March 6, 2012 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. So are you looking forward to a ‘Mass Effect’ film?

Source: Screen Rant