The director behindThe Kings of SummerandKong: Skull Island, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, has been discussing the struggle he has suffered trying to bring the popular video gameMetal Gear Solidto the big screen, as well as revealing that he wants to bring back David Hayter to voice Solid Snake in an animatedMetal Gear Solidseries.
Whilst discussing the long-gestating big-screen adaptation of the video game,Jordan Vogt-Robertsannounced that he’s “trying to get an animated series going that brings back David Hayter, that brings back the original voice cast, and doing that in tandem [with the MGS movie].”
Though Hayter has not voiced thevideo gameicon in an official capacity sinceMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkerback in 2010, with the actor having been replaced with24star Kiefer Sutherland inMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, he is still considered by many to be the definitive voice of Solid Snake.
Vogt-Roberts also mentions here that the animated series he has in mind will run “in tandem” with theMetal Gear Solidmovie. A project that wasfirst announced nearly 15 years ago, getting theMetal Gear Solidmovie to the screen has proven to be a mission much more difficult than any faced by the headband-wearing special forces operative. Vogt-Roberts admits that it has been tough trying to get the adaptation of Hideo Kojima’s seminal game made, but has not given up hope.
“I’ve been on that movie for six years and I’ve beenfighting every single dayto ensure that we translate that movie properly. This is my baby. I’ve been working on this thing for six years, trying to make it so it is the disruptive, punk-rock, true to Metal Gear, true to Kojima-san spirit version of what this is and I will continue to fight for it every day.”
The director blames the complexity of the project for the difficulty in getting it made, with Vogt-Roberts desiring a budget that allows him to bring the video game’s action sequences to live-action life.
“It’s a difficult thing. Getting any movie made in Hollywood is hard. Getting something like Metal Gear made where it is so complex is even harder. That’s why I’m trying to make it for a budget where you can do crazy shit, where you can do the Metal Gear version of it, where it isn’t neutered.”
The director also revealed a piece of advice he was given regarding the movie adaptation byMetal Gear Solidcreator Hideo Kojima, with the Japanese video game designer, director, producer, and writer simply telling him to “betray your audience.”
The first game in the series,Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for MSX home computers.
In the game, the player takes control of a special forces operative, usually Solid Snake, who is assigned the task of finding the titular superweapon “Metal Gear”, a bipedal walking tank with the ability to launch nuclear weapons. Should the movie ever be given the green-light, it is likely that the storyline would include a lot of the same elements, as well as fold in plot beats and characters from the various sequels. This news comes to us courtesy ofGary Whitta’s Animal Talking show.
