Earlier this week, Activision and Paramount announced a movie deal that would have the production company make a Call of Duty movie, finally bringing the hit video game franchise to the big screen. However, a new report states that the Microsoft-owned publisher had the opportunity to go with another option: teaming up with the Oscar Award-winning director Steven Spielberg.
In a fresh report by Puck"s Matthew Belloni, Spielberg had been interested in making a deal with Activision for the Call of Duty project. The director, other than being a gamer, is reportedly a big fan of the first-person shooter franchise and had pitched the movie idea to Activision via his Amblin company and Universal Pictures. Spielberg was also the mind behind Medal of Honor, the EA-published WW2 shooter series that was a precursor to Call of Duty.
Activision had obviously opted to go for a different route, with Paramount now confirmed as its movie-making partner.
As for why it skipped out on Spielberg, the Puck report states that this was due to the publisher being "spooked" by the legendary director"s demands. Per the report, Spielberg had wanted complete control over the project"s production, editing, and marketing, which had been elements that Activision was not willing to hand over in their entirety.
It appears Paramount"s offer had asked for much less control over the project, letting Activision make changes to the process if required.
"Being entrusted by Activision and players worldwide to bring this extraordinary storytelling universe to the big screen is both an honor and a responsibility that we don’t take lightly," said David Ellison earlier this week, the Chairman and CEO of Paramount. "We’re approaching this film with the same disciplined, uncompromising commitment to excellence that guided our work on Top Gun: Maverick, ensuring it meets the exceptionally high standards this franchise and its fans deserve."
A director, a cast, or a release time frame for the Call of Duty movie has not been announced yet by Activision or Paramount.