Celebrated horror director, John Carpenter, hasn’t made a new movie in 12 years, but that hasn’t stopped him from talking about how he’d love to adapt the video game Dead Space into a movie. Discussing the video game, Carpenter explained, “I believe there’s already a producer who wants to do it, and a director, so no one’s asked me. But if they did, I would say yes, immediately. It’s a really scary project, and I’d love to take it on.”
Though a Carpenter-directed Dead Space would be incredible, Redditors think there are other video games better suited to his style. Between satirical comedy horrors, terrifying survival adventures, and even a couple of children’s games, any one of these could make for a great comeback for the director.
BioShock
Hatkiss wants to see Carpenter’s vision of the underwater city of Rapture, noting, “BioShock would be wonderful.” Carpenter isn’t the only auteur name that has been thrown around, as other fans want Guillermo del Toro to direct BioShock too. Visionary filmmakers are the go-to choices when it comes to possible BioShock directors.
As the property is so aesthetically pleasing and has such a unique concept, directors who take pride in practical sets and effects are prime fan choices. Unfortunately, as BioShock is in development at Netflix, a director has already been found. The film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously directed Constantine, I Am Legend, and three Hunger Games movies.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Supmandude thinks Carpenter should direct Super Mario Bros. 2, but it isn’t clear whether they’re alluding to the video game sequel or a hypothetical sequel to the 1993 adaptation, Super Mario Bros., or both. But either one of them would be totally interesting, and while the movie is hated by fans and critics, the 1993 live-action movie did feel Cronenberg-esque.
The Goombas could very easily be mistaken for a practical monster that Cronenberg was known for, and it was full of creatively grotesque moments. In that respect, Super Mario Bros. is underrated, and a sequel from the celebrated filmmaker would have been welcomed with open arms by some fans. Unfortunately, the Redditor is getting the exact opposite with the very colorful and animated Mario.
Katamari Damacy
One Reddit user believes “Katamari Damacy would be amazing” if directed by Carpenter. It’d be almost inconceivable for even the greatest writers and directors of all time, including Carpenter, to put together a coherent and gripping movie adaptation of Katamari Damacy.
The video game simply sees players trying to create the biggest ball of trash possible, and while there is a plot, it’s absolutely fantastical, surreal, and impossible to mold into a 100-minute-to-two-hour movie. However, the Redditor adds, “I would pay good money to see even just the trailer in low rez.” There’s no doubt that while a Carpenter-directed Katamari Damacy might be thin on plot, the effects of a giant ball consuming entire mountains would be visually stunning.
Red Dead Redemption
JC-ice wants to see the famed director adapt Red Dead Redemption, positing, “He’s always wanted to do a Western.” The Red Dead franchise might be the worst video game universe to live in, but a town built entirely for the movie and shot with a deep depth of field could be a cinematic masterpiece.
Though the western movie genre might be all but dead, especially compared to the ’50s and ’60s, as there haven’t been any classic westerns in years, the genre is thriving in the video game industry. The Red Dead Redemption series are some of the biggest-selling games of all time, and if anything can breathe fresh life into the western movie genre, it’s a Red Dead film adaptation, especially one from the mind of John Carpenter.
Destroy All Humans
The Destroy All Humans franchise would make for a great movie adaptation, and Essceebee wants to see it more than anybody with Carpenter in the director’s chair, and they have a great reason why. The Redditor comments, “Maybe even Destroy All Humans, as some of his movies are pretty satirical.”
Destroy All Humans is a comedy horror video game, and it parodies ’50s B-movies, as well as pays homage to them, so it’d fit right in with Carpenter’s other satirical movies like They Live and Big Trouble In Little China. However, there’d be one major difference, as Destroy All Humans has gamers control the villain, Crypto. But that’s something that Carpenter would undoubtedly have fun with and explore more than any other director.
Left 4 Dead
Ashamed_Ladder6161 thinks Carpenter could helm a great Left 4 Dead. Of all the Valve-developed series that the developer seems to have abandoned, Left 4 Dead might be the best-suited to a movie adaptation. There have been talks of Portal and Half-Life movies being in development, but they never came to fruition, probably because they have such complex concepts.
However, Left 4 Dead is a simple zombie game where players must survive after a zombie outbreak. Under the direction of Carpenter, the adaptation could be in the vein of The Thing and be truly terrifying. Just as viewers didn’t know which body the parasite had taken in the 1982 movie, it could be just as intense not knowing which survivors have been infected until they’ve turned.
Duke Nukem
Iamameatpopsiple thinks a Duke Nukem movie directed by Carpenter could harken back to some of his best movies. The Redditor suggests, “Let’s see Snake Plisken turned up to 11.” The Redditor is referring to the lead character Escape From New York, the 1981 cult movie directed by Carpenter.
In many ways, with his questionable behavior and over-the-top actions, Duke Nukem is essentially the spiritual successor to Snake. The Duke Nukem games haven’t aged that well, but the movie could easily drop the problematic parts of the character and he’d still be endlessly entertaining, full of one-liners, and extremely trigger-happy. Plus, fans have already debated which actors should play Duke Nukem in a live-action movie.
Doom
Though Dwayne Johnson is the most bankable movie star alive right now, that wasn’t the case in the mid-2000s, and 2005’s Doom was a huge box office bomb. But it wasn’t entirely his fault, as the movie’s effects weren’t great, and the sequence that’s shot in first-person, just like the game itself, was too direct of an adaptation. The movie was doomed from the start.
However, BigBadBoomer64 thinks that in the hands of a better filmmaker, such as Carpenter, the first-person shooter could make for a great movie. It’d be yet another survival horror movie, but that’s what Carpenter does best, and as the setting is hell and the monsters are demons, it’s an aesthetic that fans would love to see carpenter flesh out.
Shadow Of The Colossus
Spaycedinvader thinks Carpenter should adapt one of the most beloved games ever made, Shadow Of The Colossus. However, many gamers think there shouldn’t be a movie adaptation of Colossus, and that’s even clear from the user’s comment, as it has since been downvoted.
The video game is more of an experience than anything, and no movie will capture the magic of players exploring the Forbidden Land and learning that they were becoming the villain the whole time. And even though it’s 17 years old, it’s one of the best-remastered video games, and as it keeps getting remade and remastered, any generation of gamer can play it without feeling alienated by dated graphics, making a movie adaptation unnecessary. If there’s any game that’d be impossible to adapt, it’s Shadow Of The Colossus, but it’d be interesting to see Carpenter try.
The Last Of Us
Ashamed_Ladder6161 thinks that another zombie video game, The Last Of Us, would be a great project for Carpenter. It’s just as terrifying as Left 4 Dead, and it’s shockingly emotional too. The Redditor posits, “They should have given him The Last of Us,” referring to the fact that fans are already getting a Last Of Us adaptation.
However, it isn’t a movie but a TV series on HBO. But while the Redditor seems displeased by this, and though Carpenter could have made a great movie adaptation, HBO’s The Last Of Us is shaping up to be a great series. The show has some big names attached, HBO has always focused on quality, and what little has been shown of it has gotten overwhelmingly positive responses.
