Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect movies still in pre-production

The Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid movies are still in pre-production stages, while the Mass Effect film announced last year is still around five or six years away, film producer Avi Arad told Kotaku.

Arad said that he believes a great movie based on a video game requires a strong story. For Arad, Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid are prime candidates for this. He also hinted that some headway has been made with the script for Uncharted.

"I think Uncharted will be very successful," he said. "It's a father and son game. There are things about it that are interesting. I think the world of antiquities theft, there are many countries in the world that realized they're being robbed and they're trying to recoup these important pieces. Now, the script has a lot of character [and] I think that has a shot at being the first one [to succeed]."

Arad added that he is meeting with Hideo Kojima soon, possibly to discuss the movie. But the Mass Effect film, he said, will likely be the last of these three game films to be released.

"It's a big idea, that we, humans, are the least developed, the least trusted, it's an interesting mirror image of our world, we are the aliens now," he said. "Love the project, it's getting there, it's been a lot of work; some movies take five, six years before they're ready."

According to Arad, the lengthened production for these films, and the slow uptake on most video game-based films, is likely because studios are still anxious about taking on projects based on video games.

"Converting games to film hasn't been done yet successfully, though Resident Evil did very well-it was actually a great series," Arad said. "I remember when [producer] Bernd Eichinger started it. I was working with him, I just couldn't do that at Marvel but I had a good feeling about it, it's a fantastic franchise.

"I think that film studios are bankers and filmmakers are risk takers and somewhere in between we meet on the battlefield," he added. "And the moment one video game movie goes through the roof, it's the same thing that I've been through with comic books."