Looks like Taylor Sheridan isn’t done with Paramount just yet. Despite news breaking over the weekend that Sheridan would soon be moving on and relocating his TV and Film deal to NBCUniversal, he’s first going to tackle what is meant to be a major tentpole blockbuster for the studio.
Sheridan will write the adaptation of the live-action feature film based on the “Call of Duty” war video game franchise, Paramount announced Thursday. Peter Berg, the director of films like “Lone Survivor,” “Patriot’s Day,” and “Deepwater Horizon” and the creator of “Friday Night Lights,” will direct the film and co-write the script with Sheridan. Berg also produced both of Sheridan’s “Hell or High Water,” which Sheridan wrote, and “Wind River,” which Sheridan both wrote and directed.
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Sheridan, Berg, and Sheridan’s frequent collaborator David Glasser will all produce the film. Paramount announced the “Call of Duty” movie would be in the works early last month and is developing it with game maker Activision.
“Call of Duty” is one of the most successful video game franchises of all-time, being the best selling game series in the U.S. for 16 consecutive years and selling over 500 million copies globally across its many iterations.
For as prolific as Sheridan has been on the TV front, his movie output has been slow in comparison. His last feature was the 2021 forest fire drama starring Angelina Jolie “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” which fizzled at the box office. He was also credited on the Tom Clancy adaptation “Without Remorse,” also from 2021. Stefano Sollima, who directed the sequel to Sheridan’s other script “Sicario” as well as “Without Remorse,” was at one point attached to direct a “Call of Duty” movie, but it never materialized.
Sheridan, Berg, and company aren’t the only fans of the franchise. When the “Call of Duty” movie was announced at Paramount, Puck reported that Activision before selling the rights to Paramount had rejected a pitch from Steven Spielberg to adapt it. The look of the “Call of Duty” games have probably already borrowed enough from Spielberg’s oeuvre to justify him also directing an adaptation.
Sheridan has one other feature script in the works, “F.A.S.T.,” which is set at Warner Bros. and is being directed by Ben Richardson. As was reported over the weekend, Sheridan will strike a new deal for film with NBCUniversal once his film deal is meant to expire with Paramount early next year, but he’s locked up for TV until 2028.
Deadline first reported the news.
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