That trailer was loaded with potential, and a movie that evokes that type of emotion could be amazing. Only time will tell if the film adaptation lives up to the promise that trailer made.
Lionsgate Picks up Dead Island Movie Rights
Zombies are so hot right now!
The trailer for Dead Island took everyone off-guard. It crossed over from the usual video games press and fandom into other areas of geekdom like comics and movies. It even got the attention of Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright, who tweeted about it. The somber and poignant CG depicting a family falling to zombies created a tropical storm of hype.
The game takes a different tone from the trailer, but that didn’t stop the franchise from being optioned as a feature film. Lionsgate, no strangers to the horror genre, have come forward to pick up the Dead Island rights. Considering that the game was released a mere three weeks ago, this could be the quickest a game has been snatched up for a movie deal. Instead of attempting the action-packed nature of the video game, the movie is looking to capture the tone and style of the now-infamous trailer. "Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck,” said Lionsgate co-COO Joe Drake. “This is exactly the type of property we're looking to adapt at Lionsgate - it's sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential.”
A wise decision, to be sure; while the game has garnered generally favorable reviews, a movie about a rapper seeking out a “Phoenix Splitting Axe of Fire” might not be the most compelling zombie film ever made.
Of course, properties get optioned for movie deals all of the time. It is still too early to say if Dead Island: The Movie will get a theatrical release, or if it will end up in production limbo like Halo and BioShock.
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