Mass Effect film focuses on male Shepard

By Robert Purchese Published 21 September, 2011

Tells a new story without Seth Green.

The Mass Effect film being made by Legendary Pictures will focus on the male version of Shepard.

Act surprised.

A Comic-Con panel revealed that the film will tell "a completely new story" to the games, and that actor Seth Green, he from Buffy and Austin Powers, will not reprise his role as Joker.

There will be no aspect of choice to the films, understandably, and there's potential for more films should the first do well.

"We are really focused on making this a great movie," answered the Legendary Comic-Con panel. "So we'll see where it takes us.

"We have to get the first one right to know whether there will be more."

Legendary said it was working "closely" with BioWare on the film, and couldn't give any hints about potential casting.

We may as well suggest some actors for Shepard, then. How about Jason Statham? Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?

Nathan Fillion?

Legendary Pictures (300, The Dark Knight, The Hangover, Watchmen) grabbed the rights to a Mass Effect film in spring 2010 (following the release of Mass Effect 2). BioWare doctor-bosses Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka will exec produce.

The Mass Effect film has no release date. It sounds as though it's a long way off.

Mass Effect 3.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (49) Latest comment 8 months ago

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  • LazyNinjaUk #1 8 months ago

    "a completely new story"

    I already don't care.

  • Gastrian #2 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • Gumersindo #3 8 months ago

    No Seth Green? No Lance Henriksen?. Then it is NO Mass Effect.

  • bad09 #4 8 months ago

    When a game is played like a movie but with more depth than a 2 hour movie could ever do....why bother turning it into a movie anyway?

  • Timotei #5 8 months ago

    @bad09

    Heck, why bother watching films at all?

  • SClaw #6 8 months ago

    Do not want.

  • berelain #7 8 months ago

    Amen, bad09. Amen.

  • munki83 #8 8 months ago

    He better get green fever in the film all aliens deserve some loving

  • The-Bodybuilder #9 8 months ago

    An ME movie without the Reapers?

  • henro_ben #10 8 months ago

    Really, what is the point of this? Are all game developers secretly frustrated movie directors?

    The game is slowly morphing into a damn interactive movie with each release anyway...

    Oh my god, their cunning plan becomes clear: they're trying to resurrect Space Ace!

    Nooooooooooooooo! etc.

  • HyperTails #11 8 months ago

    Shepard? Really? You have an entire universe at your disposal, you can start off a new charcter from scratch, but you go with Shepard?

  • Scimarad #12 8 months ago

    It was never going to be 'my Shepard' anyway so I'm not really that bothered what they do with it. Would be nice if they were faithful to the universe of the game, including the distinctive look and all the aliens. Can't see that happening as they invariably lose everything that made the game worth making into a film in the fist place. Silent Hill being the only notable exception.

    You know, a Jason Statham Shepard would be a good laugh if nothing else;)
    Edited by Scimarad at 21/09/11 @ 09:30

  • marmaduke #13 8 months ago

    CRITICAL MISSION FAILURE

  • BSMR #14 8 months ago

    Haters gonna hate, but this sounds promising to me. Mass Effect is slightly different every playthrough, so why people complain that the movie won't be exactly the same as the game I don't know.

    If you want to experience that story, put the game disc in.

  • StolenGlory #15 8 months ago

    Why do I see Jason Statham being cast as Zaeed?

  • evild_edd #16 8 months ago

    I'll join the choruses of 'meh' to this release, doubly so as Shepard will always be FemShep to me. They should've just gone with a separate character set in the universe and could then have avoided stepping on the toes of established plot lines. I can only assume they're using Shepard as they want to follow the Reaper story, which we've all already played/seen.

    The budget for this will be huge to fulfil the SciFi setting. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets delayed, delayed, delayed, and ultimately cancelled as seems to happen to so many game-related films.

    Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a decent film set in the ME universe, just not sure this is the way forward.

  • TeaFiend #17 8 months ago

    My money is on a non-white female pilot, possibly with some stereotype religion issues.

  • TruSmiles #18 8 months ago

    I can't help but think that this would personally ruin the feel of Mass Effect for me.

  • jonbwfc #19 8 months ago

    Really, what is the point of this? Are all game developers secretly frustrated movie directors?
    I refer you to the entire published works of Hideo Kojima.

    Jon

  • hiddenranbir #20 8 months ago

    Woo more Mass Defect!

  • TopKatt #21 8 months ago

    As long as one of the extras on the DVD is a completely computerised version of the film with my Shepard in it.

  • Scimarad #22 8 months ago

    This is amusing:-

    "Q: Will BioWare allow plot / character changes?

    A: Yes, we are working closely with BioWare on the development of this project."

    So basically they'll do whatever the hell they want with the basic idea and Bioware will say "Fine! Good idea!"

  • DozyKipper #23 8 months ago

    I'd prefer a porn film tbh. It'd be more entertaining. "Mass Erect" anyone?

  • geeza2020 #24 8 months ago

    "Your flesh is weak" etc

  • MikeN #25 8 months ago

    This story reminds me a little bit of the god-awful Wing Commander film. They had a fantastic cast in the 4th game but we ended up with Freddie Prinze ***ing jnr as the main star and that was with the creator of the game itself (Chris Roberts) directing the film.

  • CraigMcG #26 8 months ago

    "Legendary said it was working "closely" with BioWare on the film"
    I read "Legendary said it was working "closely" with Ewe Boll on the film" and shouted ah fuck in my office

  • CraigMcG #27 8 months ago

    @gotyourmoney
    Shepard head-buts a krogan

  • FuzzySnuggleDuck #28 8 months ago

    @dozykipper

    'Gash Effect'?

  • The-Bodybuilder #29 8 months ago

    If Jason Statham was Shephard, you can guarantee a random sex scene that has no purpose or reason at all to be there. It's just there.

  • Stuz359 #30 8 months ago

    No aspect of choice? So I can't just choose not to see it?

  • CrispyLog #31 8 months ago

    As a ME fan I'll give it a big meh as it'll be rubbish incomparison to the games. But as a sci-fi film fan then I hope it's good, as there's nowhere near enough decent sci-fi films.

  • gremly #32 8 months ago

    No Seth.
    No buy. XD

  • Freek #33 8 months ago

    It'll never end up being greenlit for production anyway, see Halo, Gears and Bioshock.

  • Liquidoodle #34 8 months ago

    Being the proud owner of a bad ass fem shep this makes me say no thanks guys, I'd rather a story about Thane or someone not Shepard related.

    In reality they should get Blur studios to make some character background films... like Anderson :)

  • Gunship #35 8 months ago

    ME2 was already barely B-movie material - but it felt fun because of the illusion that you were in it (ie it was told in the form of an interactive medium). The story itself was so toe curlingly bad, you'd be too embarrassed to explain it to someone who's not into games. Without the interactivity, the film risks being Uwe Boll-level rubbish unless they somehow manage to get a budget the size of a planet / persuade tons of A-list celebs to gamble on it. BIOWARE - JUST FOCUS ON THE GAMES WILL YOU?

  • Razorus #36 8 months ago

    Sex and Zen 2: Asari Gangbang

  • Razorus #37 8 months ago

    But seriously, this is a massively bad idea, and I'm quite surprised at Bioware for allowing this (or seemingly encouraging this) to happen. What a wasted opportunity. They were doing quite well expanding their universe with comics, novels etc. If it were up to me, I'd make a movie based on the First Contact War. It would serve as a prequel for fans, an introduction to the uninitiated, and a great sci-fi blockbuster for everyone else. Maybe a cheeky reference to Shepard for fan service but to go against the very principles of the game (choice) is a strange, and lazy decision.

  • Matthew_Hornet #38 8 months ago

    Dwayne Johnson has proven he can be funny - so they'll probably want to avoid him.

    But yes, the actual Mass Effect story and universe are stunningly generic and boring. It's the presentation and interactivity that makes it work, and the movie will lose the best part of the game and get stuck with arguably the worst.

  • Zebula77 #39 8 months ago

    I thought this was gonna be an anime? That's what I heard a while back.

    Still, if they focus on making the setting and atmosphere loyal to the original designs, I think this has potential. The ME universe is a well-developed one, so I can see all sorts of stories being portrayed within it.

  • Madder-Max #40 8 months ago

    what about the guy who played John in Farscape? or is he too old now?

    How about a nice 10 minute planet scanning montage set to 80's music?

    Ben Browder - 48 would have made a great shepard
    Edited by Madder-Max at 21/09/11 @ 13:21

  • Stratix #41 8 months ago

    They could have used both Sheps and pulled an alternate reality thing, that way they could also get Paragon and Renegade outcomes to situations also. As with the games, everything would progress in a similar way anyway.

    I don't know about everyone else, but I would have enjoyed that.

    Missed oppertunity on Seth.

  • Caimbeul #42 8 months ago

    Will be surprised if it 1) gets made in the first place and 2) isnt completely shite.

    I wonder why Seth didnt want to get involved? Its not like he is constantly making movies...?

  • tyrant1 #43 8 months ago

    Dont care that they picked maleshep (though femsheps whiny, fucking unlikeable fans will complain - surprise, surprise) thats to be expected given the massive percentage who play as male shepard. Its just the fact that they used Shepard in the first place.

    And that they can change what they like?

    As if "movie adaptation of video game" couldnt give it away already, this panel clearly proves this piece of shit is nothing but a cheap cash grab.

    What a pathetic load of garbage. Im already having enough problems with the games storyline and "canon" after what ME2 did to it all, so I dont need some cheap film further complicating things. Personally, though its hard now under BiowarEA as its pretty much their ethos nowadays, Im going to try and ignore this blatant spoiling of the universe in a cheap attempt to rake in cash.

    Wouldnt even watch it if it was on telly.

  • alegl5141 #44 8 months ago

    Clearly legendary pictures are going for the default models look with the game so I could understand why they wouldn't want Seth. He might sound like Joker, but he doesn't look like him.

    I have to question EG's choice of actor for Shepard though - Dwayne Johnson? HELLO? Did you guys not see the Doom movie? I thought Bioware could do no wrong up until EA "acquired" them and Dragon Age 2 was forced out the door too early to keep the EA gravy train flowing, but if they add their name to yet another failed video game to film adaptation it's going to really sting!

  • Metalmikey666 #45 8 months ago

    I guess Martin Sheen is also out. While I am dissapointed that it'll be a male Sheppard (I don't think of the character as male any more) I have been trying to think who'd be good in the role. The best I've come up with is Gerard Butler - who's with me?

    If they wanted one that looks exactly like him though, Link from Prison Break?

  • SniperZoz #46 8 months ago

    Matt Damon for Shepard

  • Chufty #47 8 months ago

    Who cares? Is anyone actually expecting a film of a game to be any good?

  • obihobson #48 8 months ago

    Nick Frost for Shep....

  • mcreddie #49 8 months ago

    PLEASE not the bloody ROCK