Michael B Jordan could be about to work with director Christopher McQuarrie on a film version of the Battlefield series of shooter videogames. Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie could be going from vertiginous Tom Cruise stunts to videogames with an adaptation of the long-running Battlefield shooter franchise. If all goes to plan, the Mission: Impossible director (he’s ... Battlefield videogame series getting a movie adaptation; Michael B Jordan to star
Michael B Jordan could be about to work with director Christopher McQuarrie on a film version of the Battlefield series of shooter videogames.
Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie could be going from vertiginous Tom Cruise stunts to videogames with an adaptation of the long-running Battlefield shooter franchise.
If all goes to plan, the Mission: Impossible director (he’s directed every entry since 2015’s Rogue Nation) will join forces with star Michael B Jordan on the project, based on the franchise owned by publisher Electronic Arts. The big-name director, star and brand-name IP are all part of a ‘package’ designed to entice Hollywood studios, and The Hollywood Reporter expects the cocktail to spark a bidding war over the coming days.
Apple and Sony have already had the Battlefield pitch dangled in front of them; it’s reported that McQuarrie and his partners would prefer a cinema release, however, so Netflix may not get a look-in here.
The Battlefield franchise has, rather terrifyingly, been going for almost a quarter of a century. It began with Battlefield 1942 in 2002, serving as EA’s rival to World War II-themed first-person shooters Medal Of Honor and Call Of Duty. There have been dozens of sequels and spin-offs released since, taking players from Vietnam to the somewhat distant future (Battlefield 2142).
The Battlefield Hardline series of spin-offs took in urban combat and heists in 2015. The most recent entry, 2025’s Battlefield 6, had a reported budget in excess of $400m or perhaps more – making it perhaps the most expensive single pieces of entertainment ever made. From big expenditure came big profits, though: EA was thought to have made $1.9bn from the shooter.
The franchise is now bigger than Call Of Duty, once the undisputed champ of first-person military fantasies; Battlefield 6 was headed up by the late Vince Zampella, who’d previously worked on those rival franchises. He was lead designer on Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault, co-founded Infinity Ward, which made Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (among other hits), co-founded Respawn Entertainment (makers of Titanfall and Apex Legends) before overseeing the massive drive to make Battlefield 6. The game required coordination between no fewer than four separate studios.
At any rate, McQuarrie will have a huge catalogue to draw from when making his new film. We’re intrigued to see whether the Battlefield movie will retain the first-person viewpoint, Hardcore Henry style, meaning we’ll spend two hours looking at Michael B Jordan’s hands wrapped around an expensive machine gun.
More news on Battlefield: Da Movie as we get it.
