Firewatch movie in the works

Most video games don’t lend themselves to movies well - which is the reason why most video game adaptations tend to suck. 

Every now and then, though, a video game comes out where you realise that as good as the game is, it would also work really well as a movie.

Firewatch from 2016 is one such game that has garnered interest in a movie adaptation ever since it was released, because it was felt that it was one of those projects with strong enough characters and a well thought out storyline.

And now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, those plans for an adaptation are finally in place, with game developer Campo Santo teaming up with Snoot Entertainment and Lionsgate to bring the story of Firewatch to the big screen.

Campo Santo’s Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin will produce the film, along with Snoot’s Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder, who are both responsible for indie films like Blindspotting and Little Monsters.

The latter producers sharing the following statement: "Firewatch is a stunning accomplishment, a beautiful and heart-breaking piece of art. I’m delighted that Sean and Jake are letting us ruin their perfect video game by turning it into a movie and/or TV show."

It’s great that they know that movie adaptations of video games normally ruin the game, so it’s clear they are not putting pressure on themselves to do anything different. This is all sarcastic, of course.

That this film is getting made by a studio more famous for its indie movies is a good thing though, as often bloated budgets and unrealistic expectations can actually ruin these video-game adaptations, whereas if they just focus on keeping things simple it could easily do the story justice.

The video game follows Henry (voiced by Rich Sommer), a fire lookout in the Wisconsin wilderness, as he investigates strange occurrences and reports back to his supervisor, Delilah (voiced by Cissy Jones). They communicate exclusively via handheld radio as they watch over different sections of the park.

Henry and Delilah have to contend with the loneliness and isolation of the job while getting to know each other over the radio. It’s a very simple, character-driven story that can easily work as a movie.

There are no writers or directors announced for this project yet, nor any planned release dates on when fans can expect Firewatch to make it to theatres.

This article was brought to you by Critical Hit.