The FPS Review may receive a commission for those who purchase something after clicking a link in this text.
EA’s Battlefield franchise, which has had an advanced few years on the sport front, is outwardly hot property in Hollywood straight away. IGN reports that five major studios are in an energetic bidding war over the rights to a Battlefield film: Netflix, Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, and Amazon MGM. The project is being developed by Mission: Inconceivable director Christopher McQuarrie, with Michael B. Jordan on board to provide and potentially star.
The Hollywood Reporter originally broke the story that McQuarrie has been developing the film in collaboration with EA, and that the team has been actively shopping it around on the lookout for the precise studio partner. A theatrical release was reportedly the preference — which made Netflix’s aggressive pursuit something of a surprise, as streaming-first acquisitions don’t all the time align with the theatrical-first ambitions of IP this scale. Netflix, apparently, is trying to indicate it may well play within the theatrical space when the project warrants it.
McQuarrie’s involvement is the detail that lends this credibility. The person knows military motion set pieces in addition to anyone working in Hollywood straight away, and Battlefield as source material is tailor-made for his strengths — large-scale battlefield engagements, combined arms chaos, a world that’s inherently cinematic in a way that translates well to the screen. Whether EA’s game franchise provides much in the best way of narrative structure for a movie is a separate query (Battlefield stories are famously thin), but that’s what screenwriters are for.
Video game adaptations have had a notably higher run recently, with The Last of Us on HBO setting a brand new quality benchmark for the genre. A Battlefield film riding that tailwind, with McQuarrie on the helm and Jordan’s star power, is the type of package that warrants serious studio money. Whether it becomes a blockbuster or one other cautionary tale depends entirely on execution — and which studio wins the bid.
We’ll update when a distribution deal is announced. Given the variety of parties within the room, it shouldn’t be a protracted wait.