Jordan Vogt-Roberts has hit it big in the last few years. Thanks to his excellent indie drama, The Kings Of Summer, he landed a place in the directors chair for Kong: Skull Island, but it seems his true calling is to helm the long-awaited Metal Gear Solid adaptation, a project that has struggled to get off the ground despite the demand for it.
Speaking to Collider, Vogt-Roberts said:
“Metal Gear Solid is probably the most important franchise to me on the planet. It is such a genius, idiosyncratic work and being able to spend time with [Hideo] Kojima recently has been like a dream. He’s the best and his whole team is the best”.
“We are working on the script. That is a property that I will fight tooth and nail to make sure is done properly because it’s so easy to screw it up and so easy for a studio to try and make it into G.I. Joe or try and make it into Mission: Impossible or try and make it into something that it’s not. Metal Gear Solid needs to be exactly what it needs to be, which is Metal Gear Solid“.
Given that the video game franchise naturally embraces hard-hitting violence, Vogt-Roberts acknowledges that R-rated successes of Deadpool and (potentially) Logan could pave the way for his MGS vision to come to life:
“I want to make the version of the movie that is most true to what it needs to be, so if that is a Deadpool or Logan route where you go with a smaller budget and you’re able to make it R, great”.
“There are hyper-violent parts to Metal Gear but I would not necessarily call the hyper-violent part the core element of it versus like the tone and the voice and the philosophies that the characters exhibit”.
“Those characters sort of are these walking philosophies, so I think nailing that part is far more important necessarily than thinking about the rating at this point, because right now we’re just trying to get the best version of it”.
Vogt-Roberts’ passion for the adaptation is palpable, and fans of the game will be salivating at the idea of such a super fan helming the project. If Kong: Skull Island is a big success, Vogt-Roberts’ might have the opportunity to push forward any project he wants. I think it’s clear where his loyalties rest.
#Peace.Love.MetalGearSolid
