Universal Takes on Ruiner: A New Hope for Video Game Film Adaptations

Recent trends in film adaptations of video games have shown promising signs, contrasting significantly with the past when such conversions were often met with skepticism. The landscape began to shift with successful releases like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the acclaimed series The Last of Us. However, the recent adaptation of Borderlands fell considerably short of expectations, proving to be both disappointing and commercially unsuccessful, despite some positive reviews, such as that from Gamereactor's Kim Olsen.

Despite the mixed results of past adaptations, there remains a pushing force behind new projects based on video games. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Universal is taking on the task of creating a film inspired by Ruiner, a game developed by Reikon Games and released by Devolver Digital in 2017. This venture marks another attempt to bring the narrative and intensity of video games to a broader audience.

The film will be helmed by director Wes Ball, known for his recent work on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, while the screenplay will be penned by Michael Arlen Ross. The production team is quite extensive and includes Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg, Wes Ball, and Joe Hartwick Jr. The executive producers are Timothy I. Stevenson, Dan Jevons, Marek Roefler, Magdalena Tomkowicz, and Jakub Stylinski, indicating a well-rounded collaboration of talent behind the project.

Ruiner itself offers a compelling narrative, set in the futuristic cyberscape of Rengkok in the year 2091. The story follows a wired psychopath who rebels against a corrupt system with the support of a mysterious hacker, aiming to uncover the truth and rescue his kidnapped brother, as described by the official game synopsis on Steam.