Full disclosure: I had never heard of "Cyberpunk 2077" before today. Not once. That said, judging by how fast this announcement has gone viral, I'm clearly in the minority.
The news, via Deadline, is that Paramount is developing a live-action film set in the "Cyberpunk 2077" universe, based on CD Projekt Red's RPG. Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("Transformers") is producing alongside CD Projekt Red, the Polish developer that holds the rights.
So I did some homework. The game takes place in Night City, a dystopian, futuristic California metropolis. Players control V, a mercenary who gets stuck with a cybernetic "biochip" carrying a digital copy of Johnny Silverhand, a legendary rock star turned terrorist. Oh, and apparently Silverhand is played in the game by Keanu Reeves? Is he going to star in this?
The game has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, plus another 15 million for its "Phantom Liberty" expansion.
This is part of a larger video game push at Paramount. The studio is co-producing "Street Fighter," which opens next Friday, October 16, and also has a "Call of Duty" movie in the works, with Peter Berg directing and co-writing alongside Taylor Sheridan.
It's not hard to see why Paramount is chasing gaming IP. The studio already has a franchise in "Sonic the Hedgehog," with "Sonic 3" grossing nearly $500M worldwide. Elsewhere, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" crossed $1.3 billion, "A Minecraft Movie" came close to $1 billion, not to mention countless other examples this decade. Video game adaptations used to be box office poison, but now every studio wants a piece.
No director, writer or cast yet for "Cyberpunk 2077," but plenty of people clearly want this, especially with Keanu in the lead role.
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