Summary
FormerGrand Theft Autofranchise executive Dan Houser explains why audiences won’t be getting a movie adaptation of the hit video game. After the release of the first game in 1997, the world of Rockstar Games' successful franchise expanded with numerous sequels and spinoffs, most recently with the acclaimedGrand Theft Auto Vin 2013. While the series continues to be immensely popular and excitement for the upcomingGTA 6remains at an all-time high, aGrand Theft Automoviehasn’t yet come to fruition.
In a recent interview withThe Ankler, Houser, who left his position as cofounder, head writer and VP of creativity at Rockstar in 2020, explains why aGrand Theft Automovie never happened. According to the executive,there was too much risk involved in relinquishing control over their highly-lucrative franchise, especially at a time when most video game adaptations weren’t very good. Check out his comment below:
“After a few awkward dates, we’d ask [the executives], why would we do this? [And their response was:] ‘Because you get to make a movie.’ And we’d be like, no, what you’ve described isyoumaking a movie and us having no control and taking a huge risk that we’re going to end up paying for with something that belongs to us.
“They thought we’d be blinded by the lights and that just wasn’t the case. We had what we considered to be multi-billion-dollar IP, and the economics never made sense. The risk never made sense. In those days, the perception was that games made poor-quality movies. It’s a different time now.”
Should A Grand Theft Auto Movie Adaptation Happen?
Why The Jump To The Big Screen Would Be A Challenge
Grand Theft Autoremains immensely popular, meaning there would be a large built-in audience for any movie adaptation. If a movie did move forward, however, it would face a number of key challenges. Unlike a game likeRed Dead Redemptionor its hit sequel, there isn’t one clearGrand Theft Autoprotagonist that serves as an obvious choice around which to build a film. Many of the games' characters are memorable, but most don’t have the same kind of emotionally-resonant arc that someone likeRed Dead RedemptionII’s Arthur Morganhas.
BothRed Dead Redemptiongames were critically acclaimed due in part to the powerful journeys of their respective protagonists, potentially making that franchise a better fit for a movie adaptation.
The real appeal ofGrand Theft Autois really the world, the tone, and the gameplay. The games have interesting stories with evolving characters, butit’s the total player freedom that’s arguably responsible for catapulting the games to success. Players can essentially do whatever they want, from stealing cars to mugging civilians to street racing to fending off police SWAT teams, and capturing this same feeling and tonality in a movie could be a challenge.
That being said, recent game adaptations have certainly proven that it could be done under the right circumstances. Thereviews for Prime Video’sFalloutfor example, were glowing, as were those forThe Last of Us.The Super Mario Bros. Moviemay not have been a winner with critics, but audiences loved it, and it became a major box office success. It’s unclear whether aGrand Theft Automovie will ever happen, but it certainly has the potential to be a major hit if it does.
