Sony is negotiating to land the big-screen version of “Battlefield” after a bidding war among several studios, with Christopher McQuarrie and Michael B. Jordan behind the project. Sony declined to comment on the talks.
McQuarrie is attached to write, direct and produce an adaptation of the Electronic Arts shooter. Jordan is attached to produce, and he could also star, though that depends on several factors. The producing team also includes Jesse Stern of Electronic Arts, Carter Swan of Emerald Neon, Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo, and Elizabeth Raposo, president of Outlier Society.
For families who grew up queuing for a game night with friends, the appeal is easy to see. The franchise began in 2002 with the World War II title “Battlefield 1942” and centers on large online battles between opposing armies. “Battlefield 6,” the 18th installment, came out last year. It is set between 2027 and 2028 and follows a fractured NATO in conflict with a private military company. It became the best-selling first-person shooter of the year and the best seller in the franchise’s history, ahead of Activision’s “Call of Duty.”
A crowded race for game adaptations
Paramount is making a “Call of Duty” film of its own. Peter Berg is set to direct from a script by Taylor Sheridan, the “Yellowstone” creator. The studio previewed it at CinemaCon, and it is dated for theaters on June 30, 2028.
McQuarrie comes to the project after what looks like the end of Tom Cruise’s run as Ethan Hunt, with last year’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” He is also set to direct Arnold Schwarzenegger in a third Conan the Barbarian film, “King Conan,” and is working with Cruise on an outer-space movie directed by Doug Liman.
Jordan has been here before. He played Navy SEAL John Clark in Amazon’s “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse” and is developing a “Rainbow Six” follow-up. First, he stars in, directs and produces a reimagined “The Thomas Crown Affair” for Amazon MGM Studios, due in theaters on March 5, 2027. He will also play detective Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs opposite Austin Butler’s Sonny Crockett in Universal’s “Miami Vice ’85.”
