A feature film based on the Mega Man franchise is set to enter production at the Chernin Entertainment company, with co-directors of Catfish and Nerve, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman slated for the directorial role. Both men will also act as screenwriters for the film, and so will have a strong influence on its style and themes.
Mega Man is a franchise that has its roots in the NES era of home gaming and would ultimately spawn as many as 50 titles across multiple systems through multiple decades. Headed by its titular character, the games were action-platformers, offering fast-paced, run-and-gun gameplay with a choose-your-own-level progression system which allowed gamers to pick their way through the game’s various stages.
Like many popular video game stars, Mega Man has crossed over to several other mediums over the years, including TV shows, comics, and manga, but never a fully fledged feature film — until now. The presumption is it will revolve around the plot of the original game: a lab assistant dons powerful armor and weaponry to take on a mad scientist unleashing killer robots on the world.
But that’s mere speculation at this point.
What we do know though, is that the duo who directed Catfish, Nerve and two of the Paranormal Activity sequels, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, are set to write and direct it. They’re joined by Masi Oka as producer (as per HollywoodReporter). While most people may know him as Hiro, from the superhero TV show Heroes he recently produced the Netflix Death Note live-action movie, so will be bringing that experience to bear on the Mega Man project.
Elsewhere in the world of entertainment, Mega Man is set to take center stage in an upcoming adaptation for an animated TV show. The creators are looking to cater to a brand-new generation of potential fans though, by changing up the classic formula. Instead of a lab assistant reacting to a world-changing event, Mega Man is the alter ego of Aki Light, a normal schoolboy robot who can transform into Mega Man when needed.
He’ll battle the villains of “Silicon City,” according to A.V. Club. We’ll leave you to judge whether that’s as worthy of attention as the upcoming movie.
