Dwayne Johnson to go on a Rampage

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

I played Rampage on Gameboy all the way to level 100, thinking I would beat it. I didn't, the game just keeps on going.

 

[Gabe99]

‘Rampage’ Writer Has a Plan to Break Video Game Movie Curse

Spinoff Online: Movie adaptation of video games often crash and burn. What was interesting about this property for you?

Ryan Condal: I played this on my home system, which was probably the standard Nintendo, possibly Super Nintendo, at the time. I just loved it. And, I loved the challenges that this was an action game: You battle these monsters that strike. When New Line came to us and said, “This is what we’re trying to do. We have the Rock to star in it,” Carlton Cuse and I were both really inspired by the challenge of applying a character-driven, three-arc structure to that world. And, honestly, who doesn’t want to watch the Rock run around and fight giant monsters? The world has been begging for it for a long time and now we’re hopefully going to give it to them.

Why is it so hard to deliver an entertaining video game adaptation?

It’s a really good question. I think comic books really struggled with this for a long time. In quick succession, Chris Nolan, and then Jon Favreau figuring out “Iron Man” – and you could make the argument, too, for Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man,” which was a really fitting origin story – helped. I think video games suffer from a different challenge, which is most video games don’t have a central character. We want to go see a “Spider-Man” movie because we love Spider-Man. He was the comic-book geek that got beat up in high school and then got superpowers that allowed him to lash back against the people who were miserable to him. What comic-book geek wouldn’t hook in, and be inspired, by that kind of story? A lot of video games don’t have that central hook. The solution goes two ways. If you happen to have a video game that does have that compelling central character, like an “Assassin’s Creed,” the Assassin is the character that world is built around. There’s a character you can anchor that story in. That’s one version. Then, it’s really about writing a great, compelling story in that world and making a great movie.

The issue that “Rampage” faces is it’s an action game; it’s a world. It’s based on an idea and doesn’t have a central, three-dimensional character at the center of it. In that case, the trick is to find the story within that world that’s compelling, and love the game – that source material it’s based on – and be willing to dismiss the things that don’t make a great movie and embrace the things that do help make a great movie out of it. But, don’t be slavish to the underlying IP. In any adaptation, even in the great comic-book adaptations like “Spider-Man,” “Batman” and “Iron Man,” there were concessions that had to be made and things that had to be dismissed out of the canon in order to properly service the movies. Video games are the same way. All of those begin with what anybody should begin with when they are writing or creating a movie, which is make a good movie.

How exciting is it to have Dwayne Johnson attached to the project, and what kind of conversations have you had with him to this point?

It’s really exciting. Dwayne is the biggest action-movie star in the whole world. He’s just a force of nature. Carlton and I have both had experience working for, and with, and writing for him in the past. It’s really the entire creative team from “San Andreas,” which was one of the most successful movies last year. Dwayne was obviously a central figure in that. That’s the same here. We’re thrilled writing for him again. He’s a great creative partner. We have a clear sense of what he wants the film to be and be about. We’ve both written in his voice before and are excited to do it again.

Which iconic moments from the “Rampage” video game absolutely must make it into the film?

That falls into spoiler territory, but I grew up a big fan of the game. Those moments and things are part of my DNA. I think fans will be pleased with the way the game is serviced by the movie.

In what ways are you setting this up to be a franchise? Does this have the potential to be the next “Resident Evil”?

We would all love that. Dwayne, as an actor, is drawn to big worlds like that which do have multiple stories left to be told. Our challenge with “Rampage” is to make a great movie and leave people begging for more. If they are asking for more, if the movie is successful, I don’t see any reason why New Line wouldn’t want to see another one.

 

[terry78]

I think he's omitting that the protagonists are the monsters. You have to have a little comedy, it can't just be a Godzilla.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

So will the Rock actually become a monster? I'm a little confused.

 

[killface]

I hope they go the Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough route and make him a scientist that you wouldn't believe is a scientist and he's way over his head dealing with the monsters like John McClane.

 

[Gabe99]

"I'm an inventor. This could be a gamechanger for me."
Marky Mark aka Cade Yeager in Transformers: Age of Extinction

 

[Alien Anal]

I wonder if it would be possible to pull it off in a way were Dwayne Johnsons character is the bad guy like Hugh Jackman in Chappie and the Monsters are the good guys that we root for...even though they are ****ing **** up.

 

[Gabe99]

I don't think that will work. The monsters eat people in the game. That didn't work for Super 8. Eating people makes a character less sympathetic. Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs is the exception.

 

[Alien Anal]

Haha yeh that was my thought but why not think out of the box and maaaaaaybe it's doable. Plus super8 just sucked .

Maybe they are just eating horrible rich people

 

[Teelie]

I hope they go the Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough route and make him a scientist that you wouldn't believe is a scientist and he's way over his head dealing with the monsters like John McClane.

"I'm an inventor. This could be a gamechanger for me."
Marky Mark aka Cade Yeager in Transformers: Age of Extinction

The difference here is we would know it was meant to be ludicrous that Dwayne Johnson is clearly not a scientist instead of being asked to seriously accept he could be.

 

[Fallen Angel]

So when is he exactly filming this? He's starting on Baywatch now and then he's got Fast 8 and he's doing season 2 of "Ballers" as well.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

He is a very busy man isn't he...

 

[Pickleweasel]

So when is he exactly filming this? He's starting on Baywatch now and then he's got Fast 8 and he's doing season 2 of "Ballers" as well.

There was a report that said this fall

 

[Gabe99]

Haha yeh that was my thought but why not think out of the box and maaaaaaybe it's doable. Plus super8 just sucked .

Maybe they are just eating horrible rich people

Donald Trump?

 

[Sithborg]

Sounds like Carlton Cuse and Ryan Condal have finished their draft. Now, it is looking at the budget and schedule.

 

[BoredGuy]

If the protagonists ARENT the monsters, this movie will be another ho-hum monster flick and it will suck tremendously

 

[Silvermoth]

That said though if the monsters ARE the protagonists it risks being too similar to monsters versus aliens which I don't really want.

It's all about the tone

 

[Gabe99]

Rampage will be released on April 20, 2018!

 

[Inhuman117]

Cool News now with Pacific Rim 2 there are 2 Kaiju Movies for 2018

 

[Alien Anal]

Donald Trump?

This seems a bit more fitting now.

 

[terry78]

[YT]Nqi_uc77gIk[/YT]

They must incorporate this theme.

 

[Sithborg]

Excellent. Now, just need a Monpoc update, and I will be set.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Rampage will be released on April 20, 2018!

Sweet!

 

[Teelie]

Rampage will be released on April 20, 2018!

Very close to my birthday. Nice little present there. I'm actually looking forward to this. I used to play the NES/SNES version of this a lot.

 

[Arachnerd]

Rampage will be released on April 20, 2018!

Nice. It will be my appetizer until Godzilla 2 arrives.