Legendary Pictures picks up film rights to Mass Effect

SCI-FI game Mass Effect is heading to the big screen.

By David Bentley


Electronic Arts, which publishes the video game series for developers BioWare, today announced that Legendary Pictures has acquired the film rights.



Legendary will produce the project for Warner Bros, who will release it worldwide, and is in discussions with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Thor) to draft a screenplay. Legendary also co-produced The Dark Knight, 300, Clash of The Titans, The Hangover and Watchmen.



Mass Effect takes place in the year 2183 and follows Commander Shepard of the SS Normandy who leads a team on a mission to defeat an ancient alien race that invades the galaxy every 50,000 years, wiping out all organic life. The most recent game in the series, Mass Effect 2, was released in January.



Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, said: "Mass Effect is a tremendous property ripe for translation to the big screen. It is a prime example of the kind of source material we at Legendary like to develop; it has depth, compelling characters and an engaging back story."



Producer Avi Arad described the game as "a brilliant piece of fiction with a universe filled with amazing aliens and technology" and "a parable whose conflicts mirror the ones we face in our own world."



He added: "This story emphasises the need for all cultures to learn to work together. All this magic is presented in a fast paced action-adventure that makes for the best kind of movie experience."



BioWare's Casey Hudson said: "At BioWare, we've always thought of Mass Effect as having the depth, emotion and plot twists perfectly suited for an adaptation to a motion picture. We believe that the Mass Effect movie will be an extraordinary entertainment event that realises our vision for the franchise and thrills fans."



BioWare's other titles include Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and Dragon Age: Origins, with Mass Effect 3 in development for release in 2011. The company was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2008.