Idris Elba may be promoting Sonic the Hedgehog 3 right now, but he also plans to make a new film based on another video game.
While no Cyberpunk 2077 movie adaptation has been announced, Idris Elba says he would like to star in one. It would be great if they could bring in the OG Johnny Silverhand.
Elba Wants a Cyberpunk Movie to Happen
In a recent interview with ScreenRant promoting Sonic 3, Elba was asked about possibly reuniting with Keanu Reeves for a Cyberpunk movie where he would reprise his role as Solomon Reed from the expansion Phantom Liberty. He says:
“Oh, man, that's a great question. I think if any film could do a live-action rendition, it could be [ Cyberpunk 2077 ], and I think his character and my character together would be, "Whoa." So, let's speak that into existence.”
As of now, there hasn’t been any update on a live-action Cyberpunk movie, but it has been said that another animated project is going to be coming to Netflix; no details about the story have been revealed, but it likely will be a wholly original story from the game as well as the hit anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Though Cyberpunk may have taken years to develop as a game, adaptations set in Night City have proven successful—Edgerunners from Studio Trigger being the best example.
If anything, some can even argue that the resurgence of Cyberpunk as a game can be accredited to the success of Edgerunners as an anime. Even fans who had no idea about the game suddenly found themselves looking for it after engaging in the arc of one David Martinez and doomed romance with netrunner Lucy.
Should a live-action Cyberpunk happen, though? Depending on the timeline, I’m curious about where Elba and Reeves could fit. If anything, Elba’s Solomon would be the easiest character to bring back to live-action, but there would have to be a lot of CG heavy-lifting for Johnny Silverhand since Reeves is way older, and Silverhand dies pretty young.
The Video Game Movie Curse is Broken?
click to enlargeThough it has been a common trope over the years, the video game movie curse has been broken with successes like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Fallout, and The Last of Us.
Should a Cyberpunk film eventually get made, it’s possible that only a story could be holding it back. After all, worlds with a similar aesthetic have already been pulled off before, like with Blade Runner 2049 and even the poorly adapted Ghost in the Shell. Even series like Netflix's Altered Carbon managed to pull off the neon Cyberpunk look for their show.
Of course, not every adaptation is a hit. Every once in a while, studios develop duds like the Borderlands movie. Like many other great adaptations, let’s just hope CDPR manages to escape the video game curse again.
A Cyberpunk movie hasn’t been officially announced, but you can catch Elba in Phantom Liberty, now available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.
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