Ángel Manuel Soto To Direct Just Cause Movie Based On Game Series

Just Cause might not stick out as the first video game you think of when talking about movie adaptations. However, the gonzo, insane, all-out action of the games should translate pretty well to the big screen. The video game series from Square Enix and Avalanche Studios has landed an order at Universal Pictures with Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto on board.

Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, the duo behind The Fall Guy and other action flicks, are producing the film through their company 87North. Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg, and Timothy I. Stevenson of Story Kitchen are also producing the film. That team has already been involved with video game adaptations like Tomb Raider and Sonic The Hedgehog.

What Is Just Cause About?

It might not seem like it, but Just Cause has existed since 2006. The games star Rico Rodriguez, a regime change specialist operative. As the series progressed, the influences of bombastic action films grew. The first game in the series seems quite quaint compared to what you get in later entries. Rico comes armed with a grappling hook and wingsuit as he takes on lethal mercenary groups. This isn’t the first time someone has tried to adapt the game into a movie either. Constantin Film tried for nearly a decade, but the rights lapsed and Universal scooped them up.

Universal has found gold at the box office with video game adaptations like Five Nights At Freddy’s and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which collectively grossed over $1.6 billion. This is just another step in their strategy to mine out video games for feature adaptations.

Soto’s Blue Beetle might have been a lame-duck movie for the old regime at DC Studios, but it was a great superhero flick with plenty of heart. It was the first superhero movie centered around a Latino hero and garnered plenty of positive reviews including a 95% review from THS that you can read HERE.

He’s currently working on The Wrecking Crew with Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa at Amazon MGM Studios. There’s also a Transformers spin-off that he may or may not direct that he’s written with Marco Ramirez.

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