BioWare and Obsidians Old Republic games are ripe with cinematic potential.
Heres why we really want a film adaptation…
This article comes fromDen of Geek UK.
It contains spoilers…
Lucasfilm recently announced thatThe Last Jedidirector Rian Johnson is developing a brand newStar Warstrilogy.
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But what is so great about theKotORgames?
Why are they so ripe for cinematic adaptation?
This is not a game about fathers and sons, masters and apprentices, or even Rebels and Imperials.
The amnesiac player character wakes up aboard a Republic Ship, which is under attack from Malak.
And from here, a truly unique narrative unfolds.
Together, they escape the ship and end up on a city planet named Telos.
From this point onwards, now that youve learned the controls, the training wheels are off.
Obviously, the established narrative structure of movies doesnt work like this.
The originalKotORexperience was different for each player because the game was so vast and choice-based.
Its impossible to translate the exactKotORexperience into film.
However, with the right writers tackling said script, an element of unpredictability and narrative freedom could remain.
These are the things that makeStar Wars, and they will need to remain in some form.
This is another reason whyKotORfits the bill for cinematic adaptation so perfectly.
It still feels likeStar Wars, even though so much is fresh and unfamiliar.
Thats a real sweet spot, which could make Lucasfilm and Disney a lot of box office dosh.
Across this journey, the player adds more characters to his party.
The player character is also Force sensitive, and is constantly presented with chances to embrace the dark side.
KotORdid a great job of expanding what it means to be a Force user.
Its an interesting group of characters, which could translate winningly into live-action cinema.
The Structure
There are a couple of ways in whichKotORcould be adapted into a film trilogy.
However, theKotORgame series showed another way of making this into a three-part story experience.
The original player character defeated Malak at the end of the first game.
The MMORPGThe Old Republicfollowed on from this encounter and allowed fans to learn more.
This would certainly be a less conventional film trilogy than the turn-the-first-game-into-three-films approach.
And, if it were executed well, the third films team-up element could garner a lot of hype.
Crossovers are a hot currency in Hollywood at the moment, after all.
However,The Sith Lords,Revan, andThe Old Republicare all somewhat divisive in theKotORfandom.
Warning: dont read any further if you dont know the big twist from the firstKotORgame…
The firstKotORgame is most deserving of a big screen adaptation.
But back then it was justStar Warsgeeks and avid gamers that knew about it.
IfKotORbecame a cinematci event, millions more people would get to experience this immense rug-pull moment.
Again, adapting this element ofKotORinto the medium of moviemaking would take some work.
You were a Sith Lord, and you didnt even know it.
Viewers need to be invested in the character for the Revan twist to mean anything.
An unpredictable final act like that, surely, would make this a movie trilogy worth watching.
