You have to wonder why video game movies keep happening-- most of them are rather unsuccessful adaptations of their source materials. Television show adaptations, on the other hand, look pretty good so far with the likes of Castlevania from Netflix proving that in the right hands, screen adaptations of video games can work.
Of course, despite the failed video game movies, we still hope that at least one of them will do their source material justice. Thankfully, we have no shortage of video game movies and even TV shows. At least one of them ought to be good or at least watchable, right? So if you still haven't given up hope video game film adaptations, here are 15 of those notable titles to watch out for in the next few years. By the way, we refrained as much as possible from including titles which have no release dates yet as those can still get canceled.
ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 (2019)
What? Not hardcore gaming enough for you? Well, that's too bad, because Angry Birds is getting a better spotlight than most games today. It's even legit enough to have a second movie. After all, it's still a video game and was one of the most popular ones to boot.
Angry Birds Movie 2 is actually dead set to arrive next month on August 2019. Red, Chuck, Bomb are to return for another adventure based on a violent skirmish between birds and pigs. So put your hardcore gaming elitism aside and get ready to enjoy some casual fun.
THE WITCHER (NETFLIX - 2019)
Next on this list isn't a movie but a Netflix TV series that may or may not dethrone Game of Thrones. The Witcher from Netflix certainly has that ambition; every gamer who knows the albino mutant monster-slayer Geralt of Rivia is probably ready to explode this early on from anticipation.
The Witcher will follow the story in the books but will nonetheless involve a Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer backstory we've been waiting for ever since The Witcher games confused those who haven't read the books. The show is set to arrive on Netflix sometime in late 2019. So hold your breaths and prepare your potions-- it's only a few more months away.
DYNASTY WARRIORS: DESTINY OF AN EMPEROR (2019)
If you like fantastically romanticized Chinese warlords slaughtering hundreds of hapless soldiers, Dynasty Warriors might be your thing in gaming. The famous long-running game franchise is finally getting its own modern movie adaptation sometime this year.
Like the game, it features ridiculously overpowered main characters carving through the ranks of common combatants as if they were lawn to be mowed. The catch is that you might have trouble seeing it in your local cinemas; it's being made by a Chinese production company.
DOOM: ANNIHILATION (2019)
It's not the first Doom movie to be ever made but based on the trailer, it doesn't look to be the best either (or better since there's only two of them). It seems Doom: Annihilation's production value didn't improve much compared to 2005's Doom featuring Karl Urban and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In fact, it might even make the 2005 version look better.
There's the fact that our favorite character, Doom guy, is notably absent in the film and then the lighting just seems too bland or low-budget. What's more troubling is that the film is set to release late in 2019. That means what we saw in the trailer will likely be what we'll see in the cinema. Hopefully, we're wrong.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2020)
Now, we're moving on to next year. Come February 14, 2020, one of the earliest video game movies we'll see is Sonic the Hedgehog. If you can recall, it made waves earlier this year because of the horrendous and nightmare-inducing 3D design for Sonic himself. Thankfully, the filmmakers listened to and most likely overhauled the design.
We've yet to see whether Sonic the Hedgehog will break our hearts or rekindle that old love to the anthropomorphic speedster. With the film being released on Valentine's day, however, it could go both ways. Pick your date night movie wisely.
UNCHARTED (2020)
As if the Uncharted franchise needed a film; the games are cinematic enough already. Anyway, the film adaptation Uncharted is set to be released in December 2020 (which could still change). It features Tom Holland (MCU's Spider-Man) as a young Nathan Drake.
At worst, Holland could be the films only saving grace and at best, we might actually get a proper Hollywood video game movie with how big the star is (lower chances of them messing it up). Our fingers are crossed, however, since Jake Gyllenhaal's Prince of Persia barely made the cut as a good video game movie and he was a big star too.
MONSTER HUNTER (2020)
Hunters of the world, unite! It's not often a long-standing video game franchise gets a film spotlight. When it does, though, it tends to flop (at least among the critics), sadly. Whether Monster Hunter the movie will be a box office beast or bomb remains to be seen on September 4, 2020.
The video game movie boasts Resident Evil films' own resident star, Milla Jovovich alongside Ron Perlman and Tony Jaa. Yes, you need not worry about the ridiculous weapon sizes and monster hide armor, it seems they got that part right. Regardless, the biggest stars of the film will surely be the monsters themselves.
HALO (SHOWTIME - 2020)
Halo based on the video game franchise of the same name will neither be a movie or in Netflix; it's actually going to be premiered by Showtime. However, we'd be crazy snobs to not include it in this list. After all, the speculations suggest that Master Chief himself is going to be the central character, hopefully along with other Spartans.
Moreover, the ambitious TV series is to be produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television. It's big alright. There's no actual release date yet and the show is still under production. However, 2020 is a generous estimate if we're lucky.
MINECRAFT THE MOVIE (2022)
Minecraft sure loves to hype things up for its film adaptation. That is despite the release date of March 4, 2022, which is nearly three years from now. One of the reasons for this is perhaps due to the fact that it would be the developers themselves handling the film. You can bet it would be authentic and true to its source material.
The devs even partnered with Warner Bros. and director Peter Sollett to make their dream movie a reality. Of course, they promise a film resolution and quality vastly superior to the low polygon and pixel Minecraft. Rest assured, it wouldn't be a blocky blockbuster.
RESIDENT EVIL (NETFLIX)
Good lord, another one. If you haven't run out of space in your heart for another Resident Evil screen adaptation, this one promises to be different. It seems Resident Evil has exhausted its stay in the film industry and is now looking to debut as a TV series. Better still, Netflix will be the one to pull the strings.
At the moment, the TV adaptation of the long-running zombie video game franchise is still in the early production stage. That means there's no definite release date yet, much less speculation for its release year.
