‘Metal Gear Solid’ Movie Moves Forward With New Screenwriter
AMetal Gear Solidmovie has been in on-again, off-again development formost of the past decade. Currently it’s in “on” mode, withJordan Vogt-Roberts(Kings of Summer)attached to directfor Sony Pictures, and now it’s even making some forward progress.
Jay Basuhas just been set to write the script, based on the Konami video game series created byHideo Kojima. Learn more about theMetal Gear Solidscreenwriter after the jump.Deadlinereports Basu has closed his deal with Sony Pictures.Avi Aradis producing the project andMichael De Lucais overseeing for Sony.
We’ve been tracking the progress of theMetal Gear Solidmovie since it was first announced around 2007. After an initial flurry of interest, development stalled out around 2010. Arad started to get it back on track around 2012, and last year the project took a big step forward as Vogt-Roberts entered talks to direct.
The originalMetal Gearwas released in 1987. But it was the third game, 1998’sMetal Gear Solid, that launched the franchise into superstardom. The story revolves around Solid Snake, a soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility to stop the special forces unit FOXHOUND from launching a nuclear strike.
That’s the simple version of the story, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.Metal Gear Solidfeatures a dense web of alliances, conspiracies, rivalries, and so on. Those complications are reportedly part of the reason why earlier incarnations of the film have stalled — but if Basu can get them sorted out, they might also turn out to be exactly the kind of rich material that could sustain years of sequels and spinoffs to come.
Basu recently scriptedMonsters: Dark Continentwith Tom Green, who also directed. That film is due out next month in the U.S. from RADiUS-TWC. Last year he made the Brit List (the U.K.’s answer to the Black List) forThe Pier, which he co-wrote with David Bowers. Additionally, he was tapped to help Universal bring its Universal Monsters franchise to life.
