Less than a month after its christening, Paramount Skydance jumped on the next big milestone for gaming’s role in Hollywood: a Call of Duty feature film.
While terms of the deal remain undisclosed, Activision Blizzard’s flagship franchise is among the all-time bestsellers in the console industry, granting Paramount the chance to follow in Universal’s and Warner Bros.’ footsteps after their home runs with The Super Mario Bros. Movie and A Minecraft Movie, respectively.
But Call of Duty comes with the same caveat as Grand Theft Auto: It’s largely for adults.
COD is nowhere near as sexually graphic and boundary pushing as GTA has historically been, but it wears its military violence proudly and is known for story campaigns with enormous, high-octane setpieces, just like GTA.
A proper live-action COD adaptation is bound to be an R-rated endeavor that should cost more than the $100 million Lionsgate trotted out for John Wick: Chapter 4 in 2023, as much as that IP helped lift prospects for adult blockbusters at the box office.
Such is the boldness of Paramount Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison. He secured a lucrative $7.7 billion UFC rights deal for seven years — mere days after taking over Paramount — while locking in Matt and Ross Duffer to a four-year overall deal that kicks off after the Stranger Things creators part ways with Netflix next year.
Even more, Paramount struck a deal with Legendary Entertainment to distribute its films worldwide going forward, granting Ellison another go at gaming IP.
Aside from its enduring Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise, which returns in 2027, Paramount gained the film rights to Capcom’s Street Fighter through its deal with Legendary, after Sony previously put its adaptation on ice. Likewise, Paramount has the film rights to Angry Birds and will release a third movie after two prior entries through Sony.
Alongside Sony and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda for 2027, that’s a lot of family-friendly content, but Street Fighter and Capcom sibling Resident Evil are sure to help pave the way for R-rated cinema derived from gaming IP, especially since Resident Evil director Zach Cregger won the end of the 2025 summer season with Warner Bros.’ Weapons. It doesn’t hurt that David Ellison is himself an admitted COD fan.
It’s clear 2026 will be the busiest ever for film adaptations of video games. Even awards-favorite distributor Neon has gotten in on the action, acquiring U.S. rights for an adaptation of Japanese walking simulator Exit 8 for an early release next year. A24 is also bringing renowned games Death Stranding and Elden Ring to the big screen, though the two are still in development.
No talent is attached to Paramount’s Call of Duty yet, but its enduring relationship with Yellowstone mogul Taylor Sheridan could come in handy. Sheridan has tackled military operators previously in Sicario and Without Remorse, which he wrote, and his Paramount+ series Lioness deals with the same subject matter. He also partnered with Paramount in August to build Texas’ largest production facility in Fort Worth.
As sordid a relationship as the gaming industry has had with Hollywood, Ellison clearly wants Paramount to be at the forefront of reversing the past.
