Summary
Alex Garland is adaptingElden Ringinto a movie for A24, and the director could utilize the same unique approach he took with his 2018 novel adaptation,Annihilation. Aside fromAnnihilation, Garland has directedEx Machina,Civil War, and the recent brothers-in-arms true story,Warfare. He’s also a lauded writer, having penned28 Days Later,Sunshine, andDredd. Garland even has experience writing for video games, having served as story supervisor forDMC: Devil May Cryand co-authoring the criminally underplayedEnslaved: Odyssey to the West.
Elden Ringis an action role-playing game that debuted in 2022. While the game was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, who also served as lead writer,Game of Thronesscribe George R. R. Martin fleshed out the worldbuilding, making the Lands Between a uniquely dark, fantasy-fueled open world to explore on their quest to become the Elden Lord.Elden Ringhas sold millions of copies, won numerous Game of the Year awards, and continues to thrive via DLC content, all thanks to addictively challenging gameplay, profound lore, and a world fans love to explore.
Like Garland’s sci-fi horror filmAnnihilation, the Lands Between offers a vibrantly bleak landscape rife with horrors and devastating enemies. SinceElden Ringis also an adaptation, the writer-director could capitalize on the distinct process he used to bringAnnihilationto life forElden Ring. However, whether the approach would work is another story.
Alex Garland’s Unique Approach To AdaptingAnnihilation
Annihilationwaswritten and directed by Garland, who adapted it from the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. The story follows Natalie Portman’s Lena as she joins a female-led team on a dangerous mission to enter “the shimmer,” a growing area stemming from a meteorite crash that transforms anything and everything inside of it. Once inside, Lena and the team encounter numerous horrors, including mutated animals and people, with some even being disturbingly beautiful.
Garland’s approach to makingAnnihilationwas distinctly different than most approaches to an adaptation.He read VanderMeer’s novel once, never returning to the source material for a refresher while penning the script. Garland chose to writeAnnihilationfrom his memory of the book, leaving his imagination unfettered by the source material while still delivering the core story of the novel to movie-going audiences. This may seem like a wild approach, especially for book fans who potentiallywanted a faithful adaptation, but the result speaks for itself.
AnnihilationProved To Be A Successful Sci-Fi-Fueled Horror Nightmare
Annihilationbrought in modest returns at the box office, but proved to be a hit with critics. The film also garnered a following when it made its way to streaming, with fans drawn to the unique horrors on display. The mutant bear scene is taut and terrifying, yet “the shimmer” also shows audiences beautiful horrors, like plants in the shape of people, which they used to be. The characters also find the soldiers they were looking for mutated by “the shimmer,” with organs that move like snakes inside them, who eventually meld into the environment.
Some audiences felt disappointed byAnnihilation’sambiguous ending, which doesn’t neatly wrap up the story but rather leaves viewers with questions. However, despite possible qualms withthe ending Garland penned, audiences still raved about the scares it packed and praised the often vibrant world within “the shimmer.” Garland successfully captured the look and feel of the world he wanted to bring to life by foregoing a direct adaptation of the novel, with some even stating it was better than the book. However, adapting a book presents challenges quite different from a video game.
Could Alex Garland’sAnnihilationTechnique Work ForElden Ring?
While adapting a novel likeAnnihilationcomes with different caveats than avideo game likeElden Ring, Garland’s unique approach may have merit. The biggest problem with any adaptation is meeting fan expectations, which can often be difficult, as translating certain things to live-action doesn’t always work. Video game adaptations are even more difficult, especially for a property likeElden Ring, which features a customizable character and an open world to explore as the player sees fit, making each player’s experience within the game unique. Therefore, in trying to capture every player’s experience, a video game movie can miss the mark entirely.
AdaptingElden Ringvia his memory of playing the game, rather than a direct story adaptation, may prove effective. It could allow Garland to capture the look and feel of the Lands Between, much like he did withAnnihilation’s"shimmer," setting the tone for the world. With each player working toward the same end, the world and lore ofElden Ringmake for its most distinct features, aside from the bosses. Therefore, by capturing the game’s feel, Garland may give himself a bizarre advantage by writing it from memory. Garland has already proven to bea massiveElden Ringfan, recently letting fans know he is on NG+6, stating:
Don’t even want to think about the hours I’ve clocked up. Can’t seem to stop playing. Still discovering stuff.
However, adaptingElden Ringfrom memory may also cause backlash if the director doesn’t include a particular boss, like Malenia, or an event, like Selin’s horrific fate after being helped. While the goal should still be to reforge the Elden Ring, capturing the look and feel of the world may not be enough to appease hardcore gamers, who, like Garland, have played the game from beginning to end several times. As the shaky history of video game movies proves, they often make for troublesome properties to adapt. No matter the approach Garland decides to utilize in adaptingElden Ring, the director is just as big a fan as millions of other players, which should help to inspire confidence in the movie as development continues.
