‘Call of Duty’ Movie in the Works Under Major Paramount Skydance, Microsoft’s Activision Pact

Paramount has signed a film deal with Microsoft-owned video game publisher Activision to bring its “Call of Duty” franchise to the big screen.

via: THR

In a move that Paramount CEO David Ellison calls a “dream come true,” the Call of Duty video game franchise will become a big screen movie franchise, thanks to a major deal between the entertainment studio and Activision.

Activision and Paramount have inked a deal that will see the studio develop, produce and distribute a live-action film based on the game franchise, “designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences,” the companies said Tuesday morning.

The deal is a big one, with Call of Duty among the most popular video game franchises in the world. 500 million copies of its various games have been sold over the years, with the series being the top-selling game franchise in the U.S. for the past 16 years. The series is a first-person shooter, spanning various eras from World War II and Vietnam to the current day and decades in the future.

Video game IP has become a prized asset for film and TV executives, with homegrown original franchises still hard to come by. Universal and Illumination have turned Nintendo’s Super Mario games into a billion-dollar film franchise, with the Japanese gaming company working with Sony to do the same for The Legend of Zelda. Sonic the Hedgehog is a hit for Paramount already, with films based on games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and Elden Ring also in line for film treatments in the next few years.

Thanks to its decades-long history and global popularity, however, Call of Duty has been as a particularly prized piece of unexploited game IP.

“As a lifelong fan of Call of Duty this is truly a dream come true,” Ellison said in a statement. “From the first Allied campaigns in the original Call of Duty, through Modern Warfare and Black Ops, I’ve spent countless hours playing this franchise that I absolutely love. Being entrusted by Activision and players worldwide to bring this extraordinary storytelling universe to the big screen is both an honor and a responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”

“We’re approaching this film with the same disciplined, uncompromising commitment to excellence that guided our work on Top Gun: Maverick, ensuring it meets the exceptionally high standards this franchise and its fans deserve,” he continued. “I can promise that we are resolute in our mission to deliver a cinematic experience that honors the legacy of this one-in-a-million brand – thrilling longtime fans of Call of Duty while captivating a whole new generation.”

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month about his future plans for Paramount, and whether video games would be a part of it, Ellison said that “gaming is absolutely going to be an area that we obviously look towards,” with Skydance already investing in the space. The deal with Activision suggests that the company is also looking elsewhere as it seeks to stock up its IP slate.

Paramount has inked a number of major deals since Ellison and Skydance assumed control of the company last month. That has included a $7.7 billion deal for UFC rights, and an exclusive multi-year deal with the Duffer brothers, the creators of Netflix’s hit Stranger Things.

“Throughout its history, Call of Duty has captured our imagination with incredible action and intense stories that have brought millions of people together from around the world, and that focus on making incredible Call of Duty games remains unwavering,” Activision president Rob Kostich added. “With Paramount, we have found a fantastic partner who we will work with to take that visceral, breathtaking action to the big screen in a defining cinematic moment. The film will honor and expand upon what has made this franchise great in the first place, and we cannot wait to get started. Our shared goal is quite simple — to create an unforgettable blockbuster movie experience that our community loves, and one that also excites and inspires new fans of the franchise.”