Ubisoft’s first-person shooter series Far Cry is to become a TV series – with Brendan Gleeson and Jennifer Jason Leigh among its eclectic cast.
The era when it seemed as though an ancient curse lingered over anything adapted from a videogame has long since lifted. We now live in an age when things like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie can make hundreds of millions of dollars; back in the 1990s, Super Mario films were filled with leather fetish gear and Dennis Hopper moving his tongue suggestively. Times really have changed.
This bring us to one of the more curious videogame adaptations we’ve heard about recently: a TV version of Ubisoft’s 22 year-old franchise, Far Cry.
It’s odd not because the Far Cry games aren’t good – many of them are terrific – but because the franchise itself is so eclectic. The 2004 original was a first-person shooter known for its lush tropical scenery – and a wild swerve into sci-fi territory later in its story.
Later entries introduced survival mechanics; spin-offs had straight-to-video B-movie aesthetics. Far Cry Primal was set in the prehistoric era. Far Cry 6, the most recent game, was about a military dictatorship in the Caribbean.
What will FX’s TV series draw from? Potentially, all of it according to The Hollywood Reporter. The word is that Far Cry will be an anthology show, created by Noah Hawley (Alien: Earth) and Rob Mac. The series was first announced last year, though it’s only now that some rather surprising casting details have come to light.
The more familiar names among the eclectic ensemble will include Brendan Gleeson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Steve Buscemi; Hamish Linklater, Sam Spruell and Jamie Demetriou will also feature.
How will Hawley and Mac handle a wide-ranging franchise, whose main connection was its mechanics? We’ll bring you more as we get it.
