Movies
Universal Heads to ‘Hell’ With EA Games and Strike Entertainment
On Halloween it was reported that an untitled EA Horror game was in the midst of a Godzilla-sized bidding war, this evening Universal Pictures prevailed. In the latest release, the Electronic Arts Game was announced officially be titled Dante’s Inferno and both the game and movie involve a journey through the depths of hell. Since they can’t seem to get another DOOM or QUAKE out, and the fact that DEAD SPACE is so awesome, this could be something to really look forward to. You can read all about the deal inside.
Universal Pictures won a bidding battle for an unreleased Electronic Arts videogame that sources said will be called “Dante’s Inferno” by the time it hits the marketplace next year.
Agreement is the second the studio has made in recent weeks for an EA vidgame property.
The deal — an option fee against seven-figure purchase price — ended an auction that pitted four studios against one another late last week (Daily Variety, Oct. 31). Paramount, New Regency and MGM were the other final bidders, after Warner Bros. dropped out Thursday.
Strike Entertainment (Dawn of the Dead) partners Eric Newman and Marc Abraham will produce with EA. EA Entertainment veep Patrick J. O’Brien and game creator Jonathan Knight will be closely involved in the development of the film.
The property shook up a sluggish material marketplace. It was a surprise entry, because EA made past movie deals (including “The Sims” with Fox and producer John Davis and “Mass Effect” with producer Avi Arad) after the properties were already popular with gamers. This time around, EA hadn’t even announced the existence of the game at the time the concept was brought to the film marketplace. EA declined to comment or confirm the game’s title.
Both the “Dante’s Inferno” game and movie involve a journey through the depths of hell.
The gamemaker intends to become more closely involved with movie and TV transfers of its games. Making a movie deal well before the game’s release will give EA a shot at seeing a movie released closer to the beginning of the game’s life cycle.
One reason Universal had an edge was that the deal is a close cousin to one the studio just made for a screen version of the EA game “Army of Two,” which has Scott Z. Burns (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) aboard to write the script and Scott Stuber to produce with EA. The EA creative team also meshed with Strike partners Newman and Abraham.
Deal was brokered by EA rep UTA and attorney David Fox.
Ryan Gosling (Project Hail Mary) has made no secret of the fact that he’d love to play Ghost Rider in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, and it’s now officially happening.
Announced by Marvel out of San Diego Comic-Con tonight, Ryan Gosling will play the iconic Marvel character in a Ghost Rider movie being directed by Shawn Levy!
Expect Ryan Gosling to play Ghost Rider on the big screen in 2028.
Johnny Blaze is of course the most iconic and well-known Ghost Rider, selling his soul to Satan and becoming a supernatural badass. Nicolas Cage brought Blaze to life on screen in both 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, while Gabriel Luna more recently played the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider in the series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Luna was set to star in his own Ghost Rider spinoff series in the wake of that small screen appearance, but that Hulu project ended up being squashed before it ever had a chance.
Fans have been waiting for Ghost Rider to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe for many years now, with Ryan Gosling making it clear that he’d love to bring the character back to life.
That Hollywood dream is coming true. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
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