Call of Duty is getting its own cinematic universe

Activision Blizzard is apparently looking to ape the success of Marvel in its effort to bring video games series Call of Duty to cinema screens.

Activision Blizzard Studios co-presidents Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk described the strategy as a multi-layered, interconnected approach” in an interview with The Guardian.

The plan, which has already generated several scripts, is to map out a Call of Duty universe that which will draw on the feel of the different incarnations of the game” rather than recreate the narratives that have already played out in existing titles.

We have plotted out many years,” Sher said. We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going.

There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.”

Van Dyk added: It’s going to have the same sort of high-adrenaline, high-energy aesthetic as the game, but it’s not a literal adaptation. It’s a much more broad and inclusive, global in scope … a big, tentpole Marvel-esque movie [that feature] individual universes that interconnect and a timeline that makes sense with consistent themes and Easter eggs”.

The first of these Call of Duty films could arrive as early as 2018. An associated TV series is also planned.

American movie producer Stacey Sher took a senior role at Activision’s TV and film business early last year, following the announcement of Activision Blizzard Studios in late 2015. Sher is credited as producer on a huge number of hit films including Gattaca, The Fisher King and Erin Brockovich. She has also worked on a number of Quentin Tarantino movies including The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained and Pulp Fiction.

Van Dyk was a big player in Disney’s acquisition and development of the Marvel and Star Wars brands.