It looks the hit videogames Alan Wake and Control will be heading to film and TV, as developer Remedy makes a deal with Annapurna.
If youāre a fan of the Alan Wake video game series ā and there are plenty of gamers out there who fall into this bracket ā then this might be a good news day for you. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Remedy Entertainment, developers of the Alan Wake series, have entered into a partnership with Annapurna to āturn the Control and Alan Wake video game franchises into films, TV series and other projects.ā
If youāre less familiar with either title, hereās a quick bit of background. Remedy has released two Alan Wake games to date, with both being well received by fans. They follow the fictional novelist of the title and implement an episodic structure not dissimilar to a TV series. Theyāre heavily influenced by mystery and horror elements that weāve come to love from things like The X-Files, certain Lovecraftian elements, and Stephen King novels.
In short, the Alan Wake games feel ripe for a TV or movie adaptation, and Annapurna Pictures clearly feels the same. Not only will the two companies by partnering on bringing projects to the screen, but Annapurna will also āwork with Remedy as a co-production and co-finance partner to adapt the upcoming game Control 2.ā
The original Control, released in 2019, is a cinematic third-person shooter that centres on the Federal Bureau of Control, an ultra-secret US agency whose role is to contain and study āparanatural phenomena.ā Imagine Ghostbusters if it were made in the darker, cynical Hollywood of the 1970s with Charlize Theron in the lead role instead of four wisecracking blokes.
Read more: Alan Wake 2 review | A survival horror of two halves
We donāt know whether Control is slated to be a TV show or a film, but like Alan Wake, itās a visually stylish, cinematic game that would translate well onto the big screen. Annapurna has its own game division too, and it has released some absolute bangers over the years. Whether that means this partnership could extend in ways we canāt yet see, who knows, but thereās clearly a lot of creativity and ambition across both companies.
Finally, itās worth noting that Remedy also develops the Max Payne series of games. That character, a grimdark cop usually out for retribution, comes straight out of cinema with his hard-boiled noir stylings, not to mention the gameās action set pieces which are inspired by John Wooās films. Could Max Payne be up for a new screen adaptation at some point, too?
We got a Max Payne film all the way back in 2008 starring Mark Wahlberg, but there are still plenty of stories to be told with the character, (including the excellent Max Payne 3). The 2008 Max Payne was a big studio movie that came to us courtesy of 20th Century Fox, went through some battles and ultimately, wasnāt great. In the hands of a more arthouse studio like Annapurna though? The thought is interesting, if nothing else. Weāll keep you updated on these projects as we hear them.
Read more: Control review | Leaving Alan in its Wake?