BovieWan
It’s fairly rare that I describe something as “pants-jizzingly awesome,” but I think I speak for a lot of people when I say the following prospect qualifies: J. J. Abrams and Gabe Newell have been in talks to create a Half-Life and/or Portal based movie.
The film would be produced by Bad Robot (Abrams’ production company). The idea is still very early in development, but the pair felt confident enough to drop the announcement at DICE. No other details have been given for the movie. This means we don’t know if Abrams would be directing the movie, but we can all hope.
The biggest issue with turning these properties into a movie is that they both have silent protagonists. It’s possible to have Gordon Freeman talk (although it will piss off some fans who don’t understand how terribly silent protagonists adapt into film), however Chell is actually given a reason for her silence, she is no longer able to talk. This means both a limitation and a freedom. The choice to make Chell talk can’t be made, however the fact that she can’t can be explained, keeps fans happy and newcomers understand why the character never talks.
J. J. Abrams will also be working with Valve on a new video game. The title has yet to be announced.
Which film will be made? Will it be awesome or terrible? Who will direct and star? Is this new game Half-Life 3 (not very likely)? Discuss in the comments and the forum.
Source: Deadline
Let’s face it. A Portal movie would be awful; despite the amazing character design, the story isn’t exactly a masterpiece, and the games were/are fun because of the puzzle solving. A movie about a mute girl running through 20 slightly different rooms solving puzzles while an AI passive aggressively insults her is not what people want in a movie. I think the best we can hope for is a passing mention or two of Aperture Science in a Half-Life movie.