Following his recent surprise hit CHRONICLE, Josh Trank has been rumoured to direct all manner of projects: from a FANTASTIC FOUR reboot to Spider-Man spin-off VENOM. But it seems he’s already had enough of the superhero genre (at least for now) – with reports emerging that the director has been officially confirmed for Sony’s SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS.
Which means, yep, another videogame-to-film tie-in. SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS, widely acclaimed as one of PlayStation 2’s most influential and immersive games, involves a young man attempting to resurrect his thought-to-be-dead other half, a young girl named Mono. But this involves something of a deal with the devil, as the only one who can awaken her forces our protagonist to first slay 16 colossi – huge, skyscraper-sized golems that rule the land.
While videogame tie-ins aren’t usually all they’re cracked up to be – see DOOM, HITMAN et al – occasionally they’re, well, average at best (PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME, anyone?). A quick look at any list of films based on videogames, and one thing becomes apparent: they’re all basic action adventure stories.
But SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS, being the iconic, spiritual and ethereal game it is, may just break the trend. Especially if Trank keeps true to the source, with minimal characters and that ghostly aesthetic. Of course, if Hollywood has its way, then rather than a young, solitary hero on horseback with but a sword to his name, we’ll probably be seeing Dwayne Johnson in a Ferrari, shooting the big bastards down with an AK-47.
Actually, Sony: make that one too. And don’t say we never do anything for you.
Source: Deadline
