Back in September 2008, Variety reported that ex-Marvel CEO Avi Arad had optioned the rights to produce a film based on the BioWare and Electronic Arts science fiction game Mass Effect. Since then word has been mum on the project. No studio, director or screenwriters were announced and it subsequently sat in development limbo.
Now nearly two years and Mass Effect 2 later, THR’s Heat Vision blog is reporting Legendary Pictures has stepped up to purchase the film’s rights with Avi and Ari Arad, as well as Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, on board to produce. BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are set to executive produce and hopefully ensure Legendary Pictures remains faithful to the game franchise’s legacy. Warner Bros. will distribute the film worldwide.
Scribe Mark Protosevich is currently being courted to pen the Mass Effect movie script. His body of work includes I Am Legend and contributing to the screenplay of Marvel and Paramount’s Thor.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Mass Effect universe, check out the cinematic trailer below for Mass Effect 2 which was released earlier this year. With a solid screenplay and a similar emphasis put on otherworldly visuals as James Cameron’s Avatar received, the Mass Effect film could develop into something really special.
