Metal Gear Solid Movie Happening With Oscar Isaac As Solid Snake
Oscar Isaac has been tapped to bring Metal Gear Solid to life on the big screen.
This article is more than 2 years old
Oscar Isaac is one of the most in-demand actors of the current Hollywood generation. He will be prominently featured in the upcoming Dune adaptation and is also set to star in Marvel’s Moon Knight series on Disney+. After finishing up with the Star Wars franchise and its most recent sequel trilogy, it is hard to argue that the 41-year-old actor isn’t one of the hottest commodities in the movie realm. And now it looks like he will be headlining one of the most eagerly anticipated video game adaptations of all time.
Deadline is reporting that Oscar Isaac has been tapped to star as Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid film adaptation from Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. The project has been lingering in development for years now, but Vogt-Roberts has stuck with it due to his fervent love of the video game franchise. The film has had very little forward movement on it over the last few years, but the announcement of attaching a star to the project is a big leap forward in its production cycle.
Oscar Isaac will be portraying Solid Snake, a covert secret agent that gets wrapped up in a deadly mission that ends up being a world-saving endeavor. The series takes plenty of inspiration from classic spy and espionage stories, but it infuses it with supernaturally powered opponents and outlandish science fiction. The franchise has remained a critical and financial success over its five official entries, and from what we know about the proposed film adaptation, the movie would primarily adapt the events from the first game in the Metal Gear Solid series.
Fans have been anxious about this adaptation ever getting off the ground as it sounds like it will undoubtedly be an expensive production. However, the announcement of Oscar Isaac as the lead character could very well be a smart ploy to encourage investors and producers to pony up the dough for this kind of budget. As long as Isaac’s star continues to shine, his name being attached to Metal Gear Solid could be the shot in the arm the film needs to finally get the green light and head into production.
Part of the issue with getting it going could be the film’s intended content. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been adamant that he wants the film to be R-rated. Not only are the Metal Gear Solid games assuredly violent but they are also filled with a lot of mature themes, political commentary, and outright bizarre elements like a psychic villain who wears a gas mask or a cyborg ninja that hacks people to pieces. It is the kind of story and world that could be tough to sell to a mainstream audience. By nabbing Oscar Isaac for the lead role, a lot more viewers might immediately take the plunge on something that looks a little out there.
Of course, all of this is working under the fact that there is no set start date for Metal Gear Solid to get underway with filming. Still, the attachment of OScar Isaac would seem to indicate that this is a high priority project for Sony Pictures. If Metal Gear Solid is well-received both critically and financially, it has the potential to be a brand new franchise for Sony and the movie’s leading man. It also has the chance to join movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokémon Detective Pikachu in defeating the “video game movie curse.” And with how profitable the game series has been for Sony, you can bet they want a film series to be just as lucrative.
Oscar Isaac is an excellent actor and it is fairly certain that he will bring a lot of the necessary attitude one needs to play Solid Snake. The bigger question is if mainstream audiences are ready for such a wild and wacky take on the spy thriller. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts seems determined to bring the most faithful version of the game’s world and characters to the big screen. If he does, it is certain that Metal Gear Solid will be one of the stranger entries in the action/thriller genre. We hope that this new bit of news gets the ball rolling and we have more Metal Gear Solid news to report in the coming months.
